


Ignis Ardenti

by WolfGoddess77



Series: Final Fantasy XV Stories [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blindfolds, Complete, Dominant Ignis, F/M, First Dates, Friends to Lovers, Mild D/s, Mild Fluff, Multiple Orgasms, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Reader-Insert, Rough Sex, Sex, Smut, Submissive Reader, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-17 02:29:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 40,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11266056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfGoddess77/pseuds/WolfGoddess77
Summary: While exploring one of the Royal Tombs, you and Ignis get separated from the others, and keep warm the best way you know how. You both convince yourselves that it had been done out of necessity…but is that the truth?





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this story is giving me the fits. Not only did I retitle it no less than five times before I finally hit upon the right one, but I also had three different drafts going, each one with minor tweaks and scene changes. 
> 
>  
> 
> If all that wasn't bad enough, this thing also spawned a potential prequel AND a sequel, so...there is that. What started as a simple smut idea has now gone way beyond simple oneshot territory, and kind of exploded into a full-blown story. These things have a way of running away without my consent.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XV or any related characters, nor do I own you. No money is made from the writing of this story.

The roar of the waterfall was loud in your ears as you gazed down into the darkness of the cavern that lay behind it. Wind from the spray whipped your hair around your face, and you had to continuously reach up and push the strands back. Even from here, you could feel that something wasn’t quite right. The temperature surrounding the area was much cooler than what it should have been, even taking the presence of the river into account.

 

“So this is it?” Noctis said, taking a step closer and switching on the flashlight that was clipped to the front of his jacket. A beam of illumination cut through the shadows, striking the jagged rocks that framed the entrance. In the light, you could see them glittering.

 

“If the information we received is correct,” Ignis agreed.

 

Prompto narrowed his cobalt-blue eyes, leaning forward and studying the ground. “Guys, look at the rocks. They’re shining.” Another step closer. “No…they’re _frozen_.”

 

“Ice, huh? This is going to be fun,” Gladio rumbled from behind you.

 

“Speak for yourself,” you replied, not liking this at all. That explained the chilly air surrounding the waterfall. Already, before you even entered it, you could feel gooseflesh rising along your bare arms. Like Prompto’s, your jacket was sleeveless, and the shirt you wore beneath it only reached halfway to your elbows. Certainly not the type of clothing to be braving a cave wreathed in ice.

 

Noctis led the way into the dark cavern, moving slowly so he didn’t slip on the slick ice that covered everything. You and the others fanned out behind him, ready to summon your weapons at a moment’s notice. As dark as the cave was, there were bound to be daemons inside it, and it was going to be tricky, fighting them on a frozen surface.

 

How could it be this _cold_ so close to the Disc? It was like its own self-contained environment inside the cave. The temperature in this place had to be well below freezing, as was proven by five plumes of crystallized breath rising into the air every few seconds.

 

At your side, you could hear Prompto’s teeth chattering, and you were already trying not to shiver. In front of you, you could see that Noctis had his arms folded tightly across his chest; he was just as cold as you and Prompto.

 

Infuriatingly, Ignis and Gladio didn’t seem overly bothered by it. The green-eyed man would occasionally run his gloved hands over his arms, but that was the only show of discomfort he gave, and Gladio didn’t even do that much. He was like a furnace; in this narrow passage, you could feel the waves of heat rolling off of him. He might have been the least dressed of everyone, but he was also the least affected by the frigid temperature.

 

By the time the first wave of daemons appeared, you were actually happy to see them. Bursts of blue light surrounded you as your companions called forth their weapons, and the five of you leapt into battle, eager to get your blood circulating faster. But the goblin-like creatures fell quickly, only allowing you a brief reprieve from the cold.

 

The paths wound steadily downward, leading you ever deeper into the cavern. More than once, you lost your footing on the slick rock, and were sent plunging downward with no control over where you ended up. Wide passageways turned into narrow ledges that you had to sidle along, which in turn would then open back up into massive chambers filled with more daemons waiting to ambush the unwary.

 

As you walked, you were aware that Noctis had no way of knowing which direction the tomb lay, but he continued to lead the group with his head held high, even though his steps were uncertain at times. All four of you trusted him completely, and that gave him the confidence to continue on into the unknown, despite knowing that you were racing the clock against the frigid temperatures that you would all eventually succumb to if you remained in the depths for too long without the proper attire and equipment.

 

The minutes turned into hours, and still, there was no end in sight. It was difficult to tell time underground, but you were fairly certain that you had been in the cave for at least half a day. You couldn’t feel your fingers or nose, and you had a suspicion that your lips were turning blue. Everyone had gone silent, too cold to attempt to speak for the most part.

 

Until Noctis suddenly came to a stop. “Oh, I do _not_ like the look of that.”

 

“What’s up?” Prompto asked, peering over his friend’s shoulder. He went still when he saw what the prince was looking at. “Oh, damn. Is that the only way across?”

 

In front of you, the path narrowed, and the walls fell away to reveal a massive open cavern mostly shrouded in darkness. Your lights cut through the shadows, falling upon a bridge of ice spanning the chasm. It couldn’t have been more than four feet at the very widest point, to say nothing about the thickness of the ice itself.

 

Noctis leaned to the side, studying the pathway from a different angle. “It looks sturdy enough. If we take it one step at a time, we’ll probably be all right.”

 

“Probably?!” spluttered Prompto. “You’re not serious; that thing looks like it’ll collapse if you breathe funny.”

 

“We’d better hold our breaths, then,” you told him, stepping forward to peer over the edge. The beam of illumination from the light clipped to your jacket struck curved walls that led off into the darkness, giving no clue about what lay at the bottom…if there even was one. Shuddering, you backed away; heights had never been your favorite thing.

 

“I’ll go first,” Gladio volunteered. “If I can cross this thing, you guys should have no problems with it.” Squaring his broad shoulders, he carefully stepped out onto the bridge, sliding his foot forward a couple of inches at a time, testing before he put his full weight on the ice. When it held, he took another step.

 

Unknown to all of you, along the bottom of the bridge, cut deeply into the ice, was a deep crack. As Gladio edged out onto the makeshift walkway, pieces of ice filtered down, and a small chunk broke away, disappearing into the darkness.

 

“Carefully, Gladio,” Ignis cautioned. “We can always find an alternate route.”

 

“I don’t want to stay in this place any longer than absolutely necessary. We have to get out of here before we freeze, and the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. We don’t even know if there _is_ another way around,” the big man replied, his voice unusually quiet, as if he thought volume alone might be able to shatter the fragile bridge. You understood his caution; just seeing him making his way along the narrow path was causing your heart to constrict in your chest. At any moment, you were sure that you were going to watch the ice crumble, sending him plummeting into the unknown.

 

“Quick isn’t always safe,” Prompto pointed out, shifting from one foot to the other and chewing on a thumbnail as he watched the king’s shield get farther and farther away. “Come on, Gladio, just come back to this side; at least you know what you already walked across won’t collapse.”

 

The amber-eyed man was drawing close to the center now, where the ice was thinnest. All of you went absolutely still as Gladio moved forward, one step at a time. The ice crackled beneath his feet, sending a few more flakes drifting down, but it held, and as he passed the midpoint, four breaths of relief were let out in a soft sigh, and the almost palpable tension in the frigid air lifted somewhat.

 

Gladio certainly didn’t lack for courage, and you were impressed when he didn’t even glance back, inching forward towards the safety of the other side.

 

Beneath the ice, out of sight, the crack widened, coming closer to the surface.

 

Upon reaching firm footing again, Gladio turned around, angling himself so the light on his jacket shone down on the bridge. “Prompto, you next.”

 

“Aw, man… Why me?” The blond’s shoulders slumped, but only for a moment as he straightened, creeping out onto the icy pathway. He moved forward, refusing to look down as he starting the impossibly long trek across to where Gladio waited. Holding his arms out for balance, he took a deep breath. “Keep it together, Prompto,” he muttered to himself. The width of the bridge left more than enough room for him to cross at first, but as it narrowed, he turned sideways, keeping both feet firmly planted, and simply sliding them along to progress.

 

By the time he got to the middle, a cold sweat had broken out on his forehead, and when he was finally able to face forward again, he paused long enough to wipe it away. Unlike Gladio, he glanced back, flashing the remaining three of you a bright smile as some of his confidence returned now that the worst was behind him.

 

When he joined Gladio on the other side, he slumped into a boneless heap against the wall. “Don’t _ever_ tell me that I have to do that again.”

 

Gladio reached down, ruffling Prompto’s already-messy hair and earning himself a swat for his trouble. “Noct, you’re up,” he called, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“Hey, Noct, why don’t you just warp across? Won’t take more than a couple of seconds, and then you won’t have to take the Walk of Death.” Now recovered from his ordeal, Prompto had stood back up, and now he was eyeing the walkway as if he had just been asked to cross it again.

 

Noctis shook his head, moving forward and beginning his own dangerous trek. “Warping onto ice? No thanks. If I did that, I’d probably end up at the bottom of this cave. These walls are solid rock, even without the frozen coating. I don’t even know if a blade would stick. I think I’ll take my chances with this.”

 

With that said, he edged his way forward, leaving behind solid footing. He moved a bit quicker than either Gladio or Prompto, though his steps were just as careful. As he closed in on the middle, a large piece of ice broke off, and he froze, breath held. The five of you listened as the frozen chunk bounced off the wall below, creating an almost musical tone as it disappeared into the void.

 

“Okay,” he said at last, exhaling harshly. “Let’s not do that again.”

 

Your eyes were fixed on the bridge as Noctis once again resumed movement, but you couldn’t see any hint that the ice was going to break farther. As he reached the middle, the ice groaned alarmingly, and Gladio automatically took a step forward, ready to grab the prince should the bridge crumble.

 

To everyone’s relief, he made it across without incident, joining Gladio and Prompto on the other side. He sighed, bending forward and resting his hands on his knees for a moment as he waited for the rush of adrenaline to die down. When he straightened, he looked back at you. “Come on, (Name). Your turn.”

 

“Right… No choice, huh?” Taking a steadying breath, you crept to the edge, placing one foot on the path. As you did, you realized that there was no underlying rock structure within it; it was pure ice. This knowledge did little to make you feel better; if anything, it had the opposite effect. “Have I ever mentioned that I hate heights?” you said conversationally, sliding forward inch by inch.

 

“Come on, (Name), you got this. One foot in front of the other,” Prompto called.

 

As much as you wanted to focus on the finish line, you didn’t dare raise your eyes from the narrowing sheet of ice. You spotted the place where the piece had broken off as Noctis passed by it, and now that you were getting closer, you could see small cracks radiating outward.

 

Your heartbeat hammered in your ears as you reached the middle, and you stepped carefully over the broken piece, not trusting it with your weight. Suddenly, a loud _crack_ rent the quiet air, making all five of you freeze. You looked down to see a large fissure spreading across the width of the pathway. Smaller spiderwebbed patterns crept towards you, and you automatically took a step back as a large section collapsed just inches from your foot.

 

Prompto pushed past Gladio and opened his arms. “(Name), jump! We’ll catch you!”

 

It was tempting; there was no doubt in your mind that if Prompto didn’t keep his word, Gladio or Noctis would, but you kept still, knowing that you weren’t strong enough to make the leap all the way to the other side. With your weight suddenly hitting the bridge, on top of theirs, you didn’t trust that the ice wouldn’t collapse completely, taking you down along with whoever was with you.

 

“Don’t. Attempting to jump will only threaten the structural integrity of the ice,” Ignis warned from behind you, confirming your fears. “Come back to me; we’ll find another way around.” He looked over your head to Noctis and the other two. “Continue on to the tomb; we’ll follow soon enough.”

 

Excruciatingly slowly, you began to creep backwards, hardly daring to breathe as you watched the cracks in the ice follow your retreat; you weren’t going to be able to get away that easily. Another loud groan filled your ears, and you felt the solidness beneath your left foot beginning to collapse.

 

A knot of dreadful certainty filled you, then. There was no time to move; the bridge was crumbling, and it was taking you with it.

 

There was a sudden warmth at your back, and a pair of strong arm wrapped around you, yanking you backwards.

 

But not fast enough.

 

With a final sickening crack, the ice gave way, dropping both you and Ignis into the chasm below. You heard Prompto’s upset cry, and the last thing you saw was Noctis trying to lunge forward towards you and his advisor, only to be restrained by Gladio.

 

The bottom of your stomach dropped out as you fell, but it was only a short distance before you hit rock again; the walls of the cavern below the bridge were sloped, creating a kind of slide that funneled you down into the darkness. Instinctively, you grabbed at the slick surface, hoping to find a rock or a ledge that you would be able to catch yourself on, but you found nothing.

 

Without warning, you were falling through space again, and suddenly, you hit the ground hard, coughing as the air was forced from your lungs. All around you, the chunks of the broken pathway fell, and amongst them, you heard a groan of pain as Ignis landed somewhere off to your right.

 

Pushing yourself up onto your hands and knees, you sat up, looking around in something of a daze. You didn’t seem to be hurt, but what about…

 

Turning, you scanned the floor, and within a moment, your light had illuminated a still form lying a short distance away.

 

“Ignis!” Quickly, trying to fight back panic, you crawled over to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. To your relief, his emerald eyes opened, and he turned his head to look at you.

 

“I’m all right,” he assured you, pushing himself up onto one elbow, then sitting completely up. Adjusting his glasses, which had miraculously survived the fall, he looked around.

 

The two of you had landed in a small room, roughly hexagonal in shape. Above you, you could see the chute that had brought you here, but it was up too high for either of you to reach, even if you _had_ been able to find handholds to make your way back up to the now-broken bridge. But as you looked closer, you could see a couple of narrow passageways leading away to parts unknown. At least you weren’t trapped in here.

 

Distantly from above, you heard a voice echoing down to you. “Iggy! (Name)! You guys alive?”

 

It was Gladio.

 

Ignis stood up, brushing ice shards from his jacket. He moved closer to the opening that the two of you had come through, looking up into the darkness. “We’re fine,” he called back.

 

After a moment, you heard Noctis’s voice replace Gladio’s. “Stay there; we’ll find a way down to you. Just sit tight.”

 

“Very well. Stay safe, everyone.” Ignis sighed, turning back to face you. “And now we wait.”

 

“I guess so.” You moved across the chamber, sitting down and drawing your legs tightly up against your chest before tucking your arms beneath your knees in an attempt to keep warm. The light clipped to the front of your jacket jerked erratically as you shivered; you were amazed that it hadn’t broken when you fell.

 

Nearby, Ignis sat down against the wall, propping his arms up on his bent knees with a sigh. “Are you all right?” he asked after a few moments of silence. From where he was sitting, he couldn’t see any wounds, but you were curled up quite tightly, so he wasn’t able to get a good look at you.

 

“I’m fine. A little sore, maybe.” You went quiet again, your eyes closing for several long minutes. But then they opened again, and you looked over at him. “I’m…sorry,” you said slowly.

 

He blinked, arching one eyebrow. “For what?”

 

“For bringing you down with me. You tried to pull me back; if you hadn’t, you would still be up there.” But he had tried to bring you out of harm’s way, and that meant a lot. You just wished that he had been able to get back out of the way before the bridge had collapsed.

 

He shook his head. “You’re not at fault; I did this to myself. It was a calculated risk, stepping onto that ice with you. I knew the possible consequences when I did it, but it was a risk I was willing to take.”

 

You turned your face away so he wouldn’t be able to see the smile that had appeared at his words. A risk he was willing to take, huh? “You know, it might be selfish of me, but I’m actually…glad you’re with me. I could be down here by myself right now.”

 

“Being alone in an unfamiliar place, especially one infested with daemons, is always frightening. But we’ll be found soon enough.” He glanced around. “At least this place seems to be safe.”

 

That was something you had noticed, as well; there were no daemons to be found. But in a room this small, that was something of a blessing; there was no room to maneuver, and you were just as likely to hit each other as you were an enemy. However, this also meant that you were unable to stay warm in the same manner that you had been using earlier.

 

You curled in on yourself as tight as you possibly could, feeling the exposed skin of your upper arms aching from the cold. At last, you could take it no more, and abruptly stood up. Simply sitting here was just making things worse. Striding across the room, you spun around when you reached the wall, retracing your steps.

 

“How long have we been down here?” you asked, more to yourself than to Ignis, so you were somewhat surprised when he actually answered.

 

“In the cavern itself, or just this room?” His green eyes tracked your movements across the chamber; he could hear the harshness of your breath as you inhaled the frigid air, and see how violently you were shivering.

 

“Either. Both.”

 

“I would guess that it’s been fifteen hours or so since we entered this place,” he said after a moment’s thought, and you paused to look at him as he said this. “And probably an hour and a half since we fell from the bridge.”

 

“How do you do that? Do you count off the minutes in your head?” you couldn’t resist teasing. “How can you be so accurate when we’re completely surrounded by rock, and who knows how far underground?”

 

The question made him smile. “I’m a royal advisor. Part of my job is being perceptive to everything around me, including the time. I don’t need a clock to be able to tell the hour, even in a place like this.” His internal clock was just as precise as the rest of him, and he was confident that he was accurate to within a half-hour. He knew how to read the signs of his own body; his level of exhaustion, hunger, thirst… All of that worked together to give him a picture of how long it had been since the five of you had set foot in this place.

 

You slowed your pacing to think about what he’d said. Fifteen hours… If that was correct, it meant you had been awake for almost twenty-four hours. No wonder you were so tired.

 

Ignis seemed to read your mind. “If you continue doing that, you will wear yourself out,” he remarked. “Tell me, are you claustrophobic?” The way you were stalking back and forth across the chamber like a caged Coeurl seemed almost…desperate. He didn’t think he had ever seen you behaving like this before, and it worried him.

 

A short laugh broke from your throat. “I ride in the back of the Regalia with Gladio and Noctis, and I sleep in a single tent with all four of you at least once a week. I’m not claustrophobic.” Your voice was amused as you said this, and he saw you relax slightly. “I’m just cold. _Very_ cold. And I’m afraid if I sit still, I’ll ice over.”

 

“Come here.”

 

Those two words halted you in your tracks, and you turned to look at him in some surprise. “What?”

 

He extended his arms to you. “My jacket protects me from the worst of the cold, but yours is doing you little good. Sharing body heat will be beneficial for us both.” He paused. “Unless you would prefer to continue your current method of keeping warm?”

 

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. The idea  of sitting there with _Ignis Scientia_ of all people, enfolded in his arms… It _greatly_ appealed to you, even though it was only being offered out of necessity. But you didn’t care about the motives. What mattered was the opportunity he was giving you.

 

Hoping he could chalk up the color in your cheeks to the cold, you slowly moved closer to him, kneeling down between his legs, mere inches away from him. But you couldn’t bring yourself to close the distance. It was just too surreal. Though none of the others knew it – or at least, you _hoped_ they didn’t – you had been harboring growing feelings for the prince’s advisor for close to a year and a half now. Even before officially becoming one of the Crownsguard two years previous, you had been taken by his elegance and refined demeanor, and that smooth, accented voice of his had only served to sink the hooks of attraction into you even deeper. To begin with, he had seemed unapproachable to you, but as you and the others grew closer, you began to learn that your first impression of him had been incorrect. He wasn’t cold or standoffish, merely more quiet and self-controlled than the other three. To your amusement, you discovered that he had a snarky side to him, but he never became cruel with it. Instead, he used it sparingly, and with finesse, usually in response to something Prompto or Noctis said or did. His jokes were rare, but he knew exactly when and how to deliver a well-worded line. But you could also tell that he had genuine affection for the prince and his fellow Crownsguard members, and over time, that affection had extended to you, as well, as you slowly became one of  them; not just an acquaintance, but a comrade, and a cherished friend.

 

Seeing that you weren’t going to come any closer, Ignis reached out, running his hands over your bare arms, and even through the leather of his gloves, he could feel how icy your skin was. He pulled you firmly against him, and your hands immediately came up to catch yourself on his chest.

 

“Put your arms around me, beneath my jacket,” he instructed, scooting forward a few inches so his back was no longer against the wall.

 

Hesitantly, you did as he suggested, your arms encircling his lithe frame, and you were fully able to feel just how _solid_ he was. There was no excess fat on his body whatsoever; he was all lean muscle. As if he was channeling the flames that were his namesake, he was incredibly warm, like he had been standing in the sunlight, rather than being trapped down here in this icy cavern.

 

Turning yourself sideways against him, you folded your legs almost beneath you, and tucked your head under his chin, closing your eyes with a soft sigh. You buried your face in his undershirt in an attempt to warm up your nose, which had long since gone numb. He smelled so _good_ ; a mixture of his favorite Ebony coffee, and the deep, masculine fragrance of his preferred cologne, overlaid with the faint bite of leather from his clothes, which was something that all five of you carried. Of course, sleeping beside him in a tent as many nights as you had had familiarized you with the way he smelled, but being so close to him made it seem entirely new, somehow. It revealed deeper notes of his scent that you had never noticed before.

 

Ignis let you snuggle against him, and he held you tightly as he attempted to stave off your shivering. If there was one thing being trapped down here afforded him, it was time to think, and that was exactly what he did. He didn’t regret his choice to try and snatch you back to the safety of the rock pathway, and if he’d been a few seconds quicker, he might have managed it. But both of you had been lucky; the makeshift slide had protected you from a hard landing, leaving the two of you only mildly sore, rather than broken at the bottom of the chasm. The only problem was that he didn’t know how long it would take the others to find you again, assuming that the pathways connected to your location even led to where they currently were. Ideally, he would have liked to meet them halfway, rather than waiting here for an unknown amount of time in the cold. With his long-sleeved jacket, he was the only one really prepared for the type of climate inside the cavern. Gladio he didn’t need to worry about, since the big man never seemed to get cold, even in the dead of winter. But you, Prompto, and Noctis had been freezing from the moment you stepped behind the waterfall. When you had been on the move, it hadn’t been as much of an issue, since the cold hadn’t had a chance to take a firm hold of you.

 

Now, however, you were stuck here in this tiny chamber, surrounded by ice, in short sleeves. While he himself was starting to get rather chilly, he could only imagine what you must be feeling, and he knew that he needed to intervene. What worried him most was that your body temperature was beginning to plummet; he could feel it the moment he pulled you against him. It had been dropping since you had entered the cavern, and now that you weren’t able to move around as much, that heat loss was progressing faster. The best solution that he could think of was to use his own body’s warmth in an attempt to bring yours back up. It wasn’t all bad though; you were helping to ward off the chill that was threatening to creep in on him, and he wasn’t about to complain about having you practically sitting in his lap. He just would have preferred it be under different circumstances.

 

For a long time, he sat still, listening to your soft exhalations. Your shivering had finally died away, though your arms were still firmly locked around him. It felt like your skin was warming up a bit, though, and your breathing was slow and even. Suddenly, he glanced down. Slow breathing? He tilted his head slightly to the side, unwrapping one arm from around you so that he could take hold of your chin, raising it and allowing him to get a better look at your face. Your lips had lost the blue tinge that had been there almost from the beginning, but your eyes were closed, your expression peaceful.

 

You were drifting off to sleep.

 

“(Name).” Ignis spoke sharply, cutting through the haze of drowsiness that was settling into your mind, and your eyes blinked open halfway. “You mustn’t fall asleep.” It was too cold, and your body temperature was still too low to allow you to safely slip into unconsciousness.

 

You looked up at him, your eyes cloudy and unfocused. “I’m sorry, but you’re just so warm, and I’m so tired…” In the back of your mind, you knew that falling asleep was the worst possible thing that you could do when your body temperature was this low. But the cold, combined with the sheer amount of time you had been awake, left you fighting unconsciousness. Ignis’s own body against yours was helping some, but it wasn’t enough.

 

Ignis thought quickly. He needed a fast way to both warm you and wake you up. The first thought that came to his mind was a training session; it was guaranteed to fulfill both of those requirements. But he quickly discarded that idea; the room was just too small to safely allow something like that, and if one of you ended up injured, there was very little that he would be able to do. In a situation like this, even a small wound could turn dangerous, especially since leaving this place was going to require some climbing.

 

The second thought he had was that he disregard Noctis’s final words and leave the chamber that you were currently in, and try to find him and the other two. But if you did that, you ran the risk of missing them, and your two groups would have no idea where the other was; you could end up circling around each other for hours, never crossing paths.

 

But simply sitting here and waiting was an equally bad idea, as you only had him to warm you up, and nothing to keep you from falling asleep. He needed to get your blood circulating faster somehow. Which one was the lesser of two evils…?

 

A thought came to him, then; a third idea that was borderline insane, and completely unlike how he always behaved. But surely desperate times called for desperate measures? He didn’t see what better option he had.

 

Still, there was a part of him – a very large part – that screamed back that it wasn’t right. He would be taking advantage of you when you were vulnerable, and that was something he would _never_ do. There had to be a fourth viable option, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of one. His mind just kept circling back to that one idea, pushing him further and further towards the point of no return.

 

His mouth thinned into a grim line; he didn’t like being backed into a corner like this, especially knowing that, deep down, buried beneath the layers of calm self-control he possessed, there was a dark desire to see this idea play out. He wanted this, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Finally, it was the sight of your eyes threatening to slide closed again that made up his mind. It had to be done.

 

He kissed you. Hard.

 

This immediately snapped you out of your daze, and you returned to full awareness. Or at least, you _thought_ you did; a part of you was convinced that you had actually fallen asleep, and were currently dreaming; it wouldn’t have been the first time. Your eyes went wide, and your fingers curled into the back of his shirt. Ordinarily, you knew that he probably would have chided you for this; your grip was tight enough that it would most likely leave wrinkles in the fabric. But you couldn’t help it; you had to find a way to anchor yourself in reality, and he was the closest thing you had to hold on to.

 

The kiss went on for what felt like hours, sending much-needed warmth flowing through you, and leaving you tingling from something other than the cold. The hand that had been grasping your chin slid gently across your cheek, and through the leather of his glove, he could feel that your skin had warmed up quite a bit.

 

Slowly, he pulled back, his green eyes watching you very closely from behind his glasses. This could go one of three ways. You could take it in stride, listen to his suggestion, and both of you could properly warm up long enough for Noctis and the other two to find their way to you. He figured that this option had the least chance of actually happening. However, it was the option that was in the best interest of you both, and the best way that he knew of to achieve his goals. The second was that you would still listen to his suggestion, but then decline it. Not the most ideal, for more than one reason, but he could still work with it, even though he would need an alternate solution that he hadn’t yet been able to come up with. Finally, the option that was most likely to happen: you would panic, completely rejecting the idea, rejecting him, and potentially leading to an explosive fallout.

 

This might be a mistake.

 

He was going to forge ahead regardless.

 

Your own eyes were wide as you gazed up at him, trying to process what had just happened. But it was something to be noted that you made no move to pull away from him. Your body remained leaned against his, and you were still holding him tightly. At last, you spoke; a single word.

 

“Why…?”

 

Well, so far, so good. But he hadn’t lowered the boom yet; things still had the potential go to very wrong. He was in too deep to back out now, but this would have to be done very carefully.

 

“You can’t be allowed to fall asleep,” he said after a moment’s thought, moving the hand that had been against your face and returning it around your frame. He didn’t want to completely release you, especially now that you were starting to warm up. “And I believe I know of a way to both keep you awake, and warm us up.”

 

You remained silent, listening to whatever explanation he was coming up with. But you had a feeling that you knew where this was going, and it made your body tingle. Was he offering what you _thought_ he was?

 

“Physical activity is the quickest way to raise body temperature in a situation like this, and we’ve already seen that simple movement doesn’t suffice. A light sparring match would give us what we need, but the room is too small for that, even with our close-combat preference. However, there may be another solution.”

 

Ignis paused for a moment, watching your reactions carefully. You were putting the pieces together, he saw, but he couldn’t quite get a grasp on what you thought about it. But before he could continue, you spoke.

 

“Are you…propositioning me?” Your voice was hesitant, as if you couldn’t quite believe what you were hearing, and were afraid of jumping to the wrong conclusion.

 

He gave a short, dry laugh. “Straight to the point, eh? You’re not wrong,” he admitted. “But I prefer to look at it as mutual self-preservation…though it’s a bit unorthodox in the execution. Keep in mind that this is no more than an offer; you’re free to decline if you wish. I realize that it may be a bit too much.”

 

Ordinarily, he would have been right. An offer like this completely out of the blue wasn’t something you were usually an advocate for, and had it been anyone else, you probably would have said no. But coming from him, it wasn’t unwelcome. Quite the opposite, in fact. That single kiss had woken something within you, a hungry desire that had been lying dormant for quite some time. It was a once in a lifetime offer, and you planned to seize it with both hands.

 

Slowly, your arms slipped from around him, and he loosened his grip on you in response, thinking that you were preparing to pull away. But instead, you resituated yourself so that you were facing him, placing your legs on either side of his. “This is a first for me, I have to admit. I’ve never slept with someone in an ice cave to keep from freezing to death.” Your heart beat heavily in your chest at the idea that this was actually happening, even though it wasn’t in the way that you would have liked. But at the same time, you would rather have this one moment – however it came to you – than never have experienced it at all.

 

That smile returned to his face, however briefly. “Nor have I. But I feel that I must warn you, under the circumstances, it may not be as enjoyable as it otherwise could be.”

 

You sat back, blinking at him in surprise. “You’re worried about how much I’m going to _enjoy_ myself?” Your voice was incredulous. Here you were, at risk of mild hypothermia, and he was worried that you wouldn’t be pleased with his performance? This astounded you, but at the same time, it also gave you a slight insight into what kind of lover he was. Even now, in what was the most bizarre proposition that you’d ever heard of, he was thinking about _your_ pleasure.

 

“This isn’t about us enjoying ourselves,” you continued after a moment. “Mutual self-preservation, right? I don’t think level of pleasure really factors in at a time like this.”

 

“Ah, I beg to differ.” His voice, which was already as smooth as velvet, had turned almost seductive. His hands came down to rest on the top of your pants, and he tugged at your belt buckle, unfastening it with deft, graceful fingers. “Your partner’s pleasure _always_ factors in.” As your belt came loose, he unsnapped the button holding your pants closed, and drew down the zipper. “I only regret that we don’t have more time, and a proper setting…” He didn’t like not being able to take things slowly, especially with a new partner. He had no idea of your sexual experience, and he didn’t want to frighten you by moving too fast. But he didn’t have the luxury of taking his time with you.

 

You did nothing to stop him, and instead, brought your hands up to his shoulders, lacing your fingers behind his head. You’d thought that he would begin immediately, but he surprised you by going still, his beautiful eyes meeting yours.

 

“I must ask that you remove your pants. I fear that you’ll have to bear with being a bit colder for a time, until I can start warming you up.” Noticing the look on your face, he clarified. “You won’t have to undress further; just that much will suffice for what I have in mind.” As he spoke, he shifted you against him, pulling you fully into his lap so that you were off the cold ground.

 

Slowly, you nodded, but then you paused. As much as you knew that this wouldn’t be overly pleasurable, and that you would have to move rather quickly, there were still some things that you could do to make the situation more enjoyable. “Will you…do it?”

 

Ignis raised his eyebrows in response to your request, but he didn’t turn you down. “Certainly.”

 

He hooked his fingers into the top of your pants, and after a bit of repositioning, managed to peel the black garment off, putting it aside. Immediately, a wave of gooseflesh rose on the newly-exposed flesh, and you shuddered.

 

Situating you comfortably back in his lap again, he allowed himself a moment of indulgence, running his hands slowly up your legs. When he reached your waist, he wrapped one arm around you, his other hand going directly between your legs, and you felt his leather-clad fingers brush across your clothed center. He kept his touch light, trying to acclimatize you to it before he proceeded further.

 

He was exceptionally bold, you noted; there was no trace of hesitation or embarrassment in his actions. He knew _exactly_ what he was doing, and what he wanted. Despite how fast everything was moving, you couldn’t help but like this; you’d always preferred a man who liked to take charge of things.

 

Just before the digits could slip past the barrier of your panties, he suddenly stopped, bringing his hand up to his mouth. He bit down on the tip of one finger, then the next, one by one, until he slipped free of the glove, which he then tossed onto your abandoned pants.

 

This caused a flare of heat to surge through you; seeing him remove his glove like that sent a bolt of arousal directly to your core. He was usually so methodical when it came to undressing, taking his time and folding his clothes up just so before laying them aside. But the abandon and carelessness with which he had done that served to turn you on to a surprising degree.

 

Noticing the startled look on your face, he arched one eyebrow, and a smile curved up his lips. “Do take care not to mention that,” he said, amusement lacing his voice. “I’ve been trying to tell Noctis for years not to simply discard his clothes wherever he pleases, and he’ll never listen to me if he knows I do the same thing on occasion.”

 

This was interesting, though. As he removed his glove, he had been watching you, and he had seen your pupils visibly dilate, and had heard the rhythm of your breathing change subtly, speeding up ever so slightly. So you liked that, had you? This assuaged a bit of the guilt he had been feeling; he knew the telltale signs of arousal when he saw them, and he was willing to believe what he’d thought he’d seen. It was quite possible that your eyes had only been reacting to the change of light from the miniature lamp clipped to his jacket, but he wasn’t so sure; he suspected that there was something else at work there. It was just too soon to tell for certain.

 

Though you had absolutely no intention of ever sharing what was currently happening with _anyone_ , least of all your other three companions, his words nonetheless drew a laugh out of you, simply because it was so unexpected.

 

“I won’t tell,” you assured him, wondering if he knew that you were referring to more than just this single secret of his.

 

He nodded once, and the next thing you knew, he had you gasping as his fingers unerringly found the sensitive bud at the top of your entrance, circling it with just the right amount of pressure. The digits were slightly calloused, you realized. It was strange; you had always imagined they would be soft, given how much care he always showed to his appearance. But looks could be deceptive; Ignis wasn’t only a royal advisor, he was also a member of the Crownsguard – a warrior. He handled his weapons with a mastery that spoke of years of practice, so it should have come as no surprise that his hands bore the proof of that hard work.

 

You closed your eyes for a moment as faint pleasure began to unfurl within you. Not wanting him to feel left out, you let one hand slide down over his chest. Truthfully, you wanted nothing more than to unbutton his shirt, and feel his bare skin against you, but you knew that wasn’t an option. Instead, you had to settle for finding his length through the material of his pants, and stroking him. Already, you could feel him beginning to harden, and it brought a faint smile to your face.

 

Ignis saw the smile appear, and he leaned forward, pressing his lips to yours for the second time. The kiss was a bit gentler this time; before, he had done it for shock value, knowing that it would wake you up. Now, though, he did it in an attempt to arouse you further. His tongue flicked against the seam of your lips, and you didn’t hesitate to open your mouth for him, allowing him entry.

 

He tasted like Ebony, you weren’t surprised to find. Normally, you didn’t care for the brand that he liked the most; you had always found it a little too bitter, but there was something about the way it combined with his own natural flavor that transformed it into a taste you quite liked.  His tongue caressed yours, and gave you no chance to take control of the kiss.

 

At the same time, his long, elegant fingers slipped down, and he eased one into you, testing your readiness. His thumb picked up the slack, pressing down firmly on the place that was guaranteed to get the most pleasure out of you. Though your inner walls were damp, it wasn’t to the level of slickness that he was looking for; he would have to do more, so he wouldn’t hurt you.

 

Finally, he broke the kiss, but he didn’t draw back. Instead, he trailed his lips down your neck, making you tilt your head to the side to give him better access. He began to nip lightly at the skin, pausing after each one to judge your reactions. He was treating this as a learning experience, you realized, trying to figure out what brought out the most response from you.

 

Suddenly, your body stiffened as he found a small patch of skin just above the curve of your right collarbone, and he froze. You felt him smile against your neck for just a moment before he latched on to that one specific point, sucking at it. But you noticed that he was exquisitely careful, making sure not to use enough pressure to leave a mark.

 

He slipped a second finger into your passage, replacing his thumb with the heel of his palm. “Move your hips,” he instructed, and you took the invitation, grinding the sensitive area into his hand. His palm covered a wider area, and thus produced more pleasure than what he had been doing before, though it was more diffuse, rather than sharply targeted to a single point. At the same time, he curled his fingers, letting the rough digits caress your comparatively velvety inner walls.

 

Knowing that he probably couldn’t feel very much through the material of his pants, you unbuckled his belt, and you had to remove your other arm from his shoulder so you could unfasten the button. Upon drawing down the zipper and reaching inside, you were met with a surprise. The boxers he wore beneath the leather were made of the softest silk. The more you thought about it, though, _was_ it a surprise? Out of the four men, Ignis had always struck you as the one who would most likely wear something like that. Even Noctis preferred more mundane clothing, when he could get away with it.

 

Slowly, your movements more hesitant than his had been, your fingers traced over his length, squeezing the heated flesh gently before drawing him out.

 

You were trembling again, Ignis noticed, and he drew back from where he had been nibbling on your neck, studying your face closely. His arm raised from around you, and he lightly stroked the backs of his fingers across your cheek in a gesture that surprised you with its tenderness. His other hand continued its work between your legs, not wanting the pleasure he was giving you to die away.

 

“Are you simply cold…or are you frightened?” he asked gently.

 

“I’m not scared,” you assured him quickly. “I’m cold. And it’s just…the entire situation. I never would have imagined something like this happening, and I’m still not entirely sure that this is real. I keep expecting to wake up at any moment.”

 

This admission made him narrow his eyes slightly, and it was only because of the stunning amount of restraint that he possessed that he kept himself from asking whether it was the experience _itself_ that you had never expected, or the person you were having the experience _with_. But he knew how dangerous a question like that was, and that kept him from following through with it.

 

Instead, his hand left off between your legs, and he gently brushed you away from his now fully hard length, replacing your fingers with his own. “Well, let me see if I can remedy that,” he said smoothly, pushing aside the fabric of your panties and positioning himself at your entrance. He took hold of your waist, and pulled you down onto him, almost agonizingly slowly.

 

You gasped as you felt him stretching you, and you clutched his shoulders tightly, resting your head against his neck. For several long seconds, he simply held you, letting you become accustomed to him. Despite the time restraint placed on you, he was patient, waiting until you were ready. When he felt you shift in his lap, widening your legs and pushing yourself further down onto him, he took a firm hold of your hips, helping you to move.

 

Because of the way the two of you were positioned, he wasn’t able to thrust up into you the way he would have liked, and he had to rely on you to set the pace and take most of the control – for now.

 

Situating your legs so that they were almost folded beneath you, you raised up, only to slide back down onto him. A soft moan rose in your throat, and you closed your eyes, hoping to lose yourself in your pleasure. It felt good, but as he had warned, it could have been better. You knew that your legs were going to be sore after this, because of the cramped, awkward position you had to take, and that subtracted from the experience. Your pace was slow to begin with, and you allowed him to help you set the rhythm. Thanks to his guidance, before long, you had increased the speed of your hips as you became more comfortable with what you were doing.

 

At first, Ignis tried to keep himself still so as not to interfere with your movements, but it was getting more difficult by the second to remain that way. Even though the pleasure he was feeling was satisfying, he disliked not being in control. He wanted the freedom to move how he wished, and with you in his lap, that was all but impossible. No, this wouldn’t do at all. He might only have you to himself for a short while, but in that time, he wanted you at his mercy.

 

Suddenly, his hands moved from your waist, wrapping around your thighs. “Hold on to me, darling,” he whispered in your ear, and you tightened your hold on his shoulders in response. Before you even had time to ask what he was doing, he was lifting you up. Automatically, your legs encircled him as he pulled himself up onto one knee, then rose to his feet. He turned around, pushing you back against the wall. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have done this, but your jacket was cut in such a way that the hem in the back fell to your knees, and the leather protected you from the worst of the coldness of the stone.

 

Your legs loosened from around his slender waist to allow him the room to move, but his grip on your thighs was tight enough that you felt no fear of being dropped. In this position, all you could do was cling to him as he took control once more, pulling out of you almost completely before returning, setting up a fast, hard rhythm. This stunned you; though you had always known that he was strong, you hadn’t realized that he was capable of doing something like this. But the very idea of being taken this way sent heat surging through you, and it collected between your legs.

 

His pace was fast and deep, and even though he didn’t have the luxury of experimenting with different techniques or positions, what he was doing had the desired effect, as you felt your body slowly beginning to warm up. Fragmented pleasure was drifting through your blood, slowly being drawn towards your lower stomach, where it pieced itself together into a faint coil of pressure. Your climax was still far away, but it was within sight.

 

Ignis closed his emerald eyes, relishing the feel of your tight walls engulfing him. He couldn’t deny that the sensations were exquisite, even if the situation was less than ideal, and he refused to let that ruin the experience. Instead, he focused on the pleasure that was slowly rising inside of him.

 

The minutes passed, each second ticked off by a stroke that either filled you, or left you wanting more, and at last, his breathing began to grow ragged, and he knew that he was close to the edge. The problem was, he didn’t know if you were as well, and that was completely unacceptable. One thing that he prided himself on was that he _never_ let himself climax before his partner, and this wasn’t going to be the exception.

 

It took some creative maneuvering, but at last, he had you partially pinned between the wall and his upper torso, while his left arm supported your thighs. This left his right hand free to snake between the two of you, and he once again found the bundle of nerves that he knew would be the key to your undoing. There was no gentleness or subtlety this time; he set to work with a single-minded determination to make you climax, no matter what it took.

 

You gave a soft cry as he found the delicate bud, and the rough motions of his fingers dragged a moan from your throat as you felt the pleasure beginning to coalesce into a smoldering ember in your abdomen.  The muscles in your body slowly began to tense up one by one, and your legs trembled as the pressure accumulated. It wasn’t much, but you knew it would be enough to send you over. Just a little more…

 

Ignis felt the telltale signs of your impending release, and he leaned forward, nudging your head up, and his mouth latched onto the place at the base of your throat that had made you respond before. He bit down on it, and at last, that was the trigger you needed to break open the spiral of pleasure, and you shuddered out your climax against him, exhaling harshly.

 

As your walls fluttered around him, he suddenly pulled you higher, slipping out of you just in time to paint the icy wall white as his own release overtook him. His hand continued its work between your legs, prolonging the pleasure for as long as he could, but it passed quickly, and you untwined your legs from around him, standing on your own and taking a step back.

 

He let you go, and set to work straightening his clothes. Your shivering had stopped, he was pleased to see, as you walked past him to retrieve your pants and slip them on, and a tinge of color had returned to your once-blue lips. That might very well have been his worst performance, and he didn’t like that at all. You deserved better treatment than what he had given you.

 

You picked up his discarded glove, offering it to him, and he took it without comment, slipping it on. As you moved around, you could feel a deep – not unpleasant – ache at your core that you knew might linger for a day or so, and your legs were a bit sore. He hadn’t been gentle with you, but you had actually rather liked that. It might have been the key to your climax, which you otherwise might not have been able to reach. Still, it had been an uphill battle just to get that far. You didn’t know if it was because of the location and the uncomfortable circumstances, or if you had just been nervous, but your release had been quite weak.

 

But Ignis wasn’t to blame for that. Everything had been working against the both of you from the beginning, and against those odds, he had not only taken good care of you and made good on his promise to warm you up, he had also done something you hadn’t been expecting. Deep down, you hadn’t thought either of you would be able to reach climax, and had been quite surprised when he had proved you wrong. That impressed you, and you had to wonder just what he might be able to do with, as he had said, more time and a proper setting.

 

You heard the clink of a belt buckle behind you as Ignis fixed his clothing, and you did the same, making sure that no one would be able to figure out what had just transpired.

 

You hoped.

 

It wasn’t that you wanted to keep secrets from the others, but this was something that you wanted to keep just between you and Ignis; no one else needed to know about it. It had been a matter of self-preservation, as both of you had made clear in the beginning. But two things were stuck in your mind, two things that you couldn’t account for.

 

A tender brush of his fingers against your cheek when he thought that you were scared.

 

And then, perhaps even more interesting, _Hold on to me, darling._

 

Ignis wasn’t one to use nicknames like that lightly, so where had that come from? Had it been anyone else who said it, you would have chalked it up to just being done in the heat of the moment, but he was the type of man who didn’t do _anything_ without thinking about it first, and you were sure that he’d known exactly what he was saying, and had a perfectly good reason for it.

 

It was just a reason that you were unsure about, though you had a few pieces of the puzzle to help you along.

 

Ignis turned to look at you, and he took a step closer. He wanted to ask if you were all right; if you regretted saying yes to him, but the words just wouldn’t come. None of his questions seemed appropriate. Finally, he simply reached out, intending to brush back a lock of hair that had fallen into your face.

 

Before he had a chance to make contact, however, your attention was caught by the sound of footsteps, and you and Ignis both turned to see a narrow beam of light cutting through the darkness of one of the corridors, which was clipped to the jacket of Prompto, who materialized out of the shadows.

 

His face lit up in a smile when he saw the two of you, and he called back over his shoulder, “Guys, I found them!” He hurried into the chamber and began circling you both, his cobalt-blue eyes examining first you, then Ignis, looking for any sign of wounds. “Are you two okay? That was a long fall…”

 

Ignis waved him away. “We’re fine. It looked worse than it actually was.”

 

You took a step back, not wanting Prompto to get too good of a look at you, in case he noticed anything off about your appearance. You thought you had straightened yourself well enough, but without a mirror, you couldn’t be entirely sure.

 

A moment later, Gladio appeared in the mouth of the passageway, his bulk almost completely blocking it, though Noctis squeezed past him before he could fully enter the room.

 

“Well, since we’re all together again, what do you say we get out of here, before something _else_ happens to one of us?” Prompto suggested. The way he said this made you glance over at him curiously, and for the first time, you noticed his own disheveled state. There were several scrapes on his body, including one rather nasty one across his cheek.

 

“You asked if _we_ were okay, but what about _you_?” you asked, leaning forward so you could better see the wound on his face. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were the one who had fallen from that bridge.”

 

“Ehh, not quite. More like I got dragged off and almost eaten by a giant snake,” he said, making a face. “I did _not_ sign up to be an oversized reptile’s dinner!”

 

You blinked. Giant snake? You remembered the one you had seen in a clearing outside of the cavern; had it followed you in here, and then snatched Prompto up?

 

“It seems like we missed a lot, being trapped down here,” Ignis commented casually, though he, too, was studying Prompto’s wounds.

 

“Let’s get out of here first, then we can talk about what happened,” Noctis said.

 

“But what about the tomb?” you asked in some confusion, your brow furrowing. But even as you asked this, realization dawned on you, just by looking at the prince. All of you had been in this cavern for _hours_ , so everyone was tired, but Noctis looked even more exhausted than what your time in this place could account for. “Unless you’ve already been to it?”

 

“Yeah,” Gladio rumbled, speaking up for the first time. “We found it while we were looking for our damsel in distress here.” He nudged Prompto in what would have been a gentle manner, had it come from anyone else. But because of his strength, what should have been a soft nudge almost sent the blond sprawling. “That thing led us right to it.”

 

“Haha, you’re a riot,” Prompto said dryly, rolling his eyes.

 

“I know,” Gladio replied, without a trace of sarcasm.

 

“Come on, Noct, get us out of here,” Prompto told the prince, choosing to ignore the big man’s comment. You noticed that he seemed to be extremely eager to get back into daylight, especially after whatever had happened to him, and you were of the same mindset. The sooner all of you were out of this place, the better.

 

“Uhh, sure thing,” Noctis replied, not sounding overly confident in himself. He frowned, trying to reverse the map he had been drawing in his head, and attempting to recall if there were any alternate routes out. Retracing the path you had taken to get this far wouldn’t work, since some of the paths had been on a downhill slope and coated with ice; impossible to climb back up. But he led the way back out into the passage nonetheless, knowing that he had to get everyone aboveground in one piece, and quickly.

 

You were next, and as you passed by Gladio, his amber eyes narrowed slightly. That scent… It was faint, but he recognized it. Curiously, he glanced over at Ignis, and their eyes met for a long moment. That was enough to convince him that it hadn’t been his imagination. Well, well. How about that. The faintest hint of a smile came to his face, letting the other man know that he knew something had happened here in this chamber.

 

Ignis said nothing, and didn’t react to the look Gladio gave him, though he understood what it meant. There was nothing to say, especially within earshot of the others. At the moment, his mind was focused only on getting back outside, and then he could consider the consequences of what had happened.

 

* * *

 

 

Several hours and a handful of daemon fights later, blessed sunlight shone down on you, and you immediately closed your eyes, tilting your head back and allowing its light to hit you full in the face. All around you, footsteps went silent, and you snuck a glance around to see that everyone else was doing the same thing. It felt like you had been in that cave for days, and even though the brightness hurt your eyes after so long, you didn’t care. All that mattered was that you were out of that frozen hell.

 

“It’s so _warm_!” Prompto sang,  throwing his arms wide in an attempt to soak in as much of the radiance as he possibly could.

 

“It was afternoon when we went in there,” Gladio mused, “and now it’s almost evening. We’ve been in there a full day and a half.” He moved away from the shadow of the cavern, standing full in the waning sunlight. Flexing his fingers in an attempt to return feeling to them, he turned to look at everyone.

 

“No wonder I feel so tired,” Noctis said, yawning widely, as if to back up his words. “What do you say; back to the Leville? Camp just isn’t going to cut it.”

 

“I like camping as much as anyone else, but a soft bed and warm blankets after all that? You won’t hear me complaining,” you commented.

 

Noctis looked over at Ignis, who had remained silent since you had exited the cavern. “Still got enough life left in you to drive?”

 

“Certainly,” the sandy-haired man replied, arching one eyebrow. If he was tired, he wasn’t showing it; in fact, he seemed to be the most awake of everyone. He looked around, noticing that Noctis was barely conscious, and you and Prompto were doing little better. “Shall we return to the Regalia, before everyone passes out?” Buried beneath his words ran a faint undercurrent of amusement.

 

Slowly, the five of you made your way back to the car, climbing inside. Noctis slid down in his seat, closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep. In the front, Prompto had buried his head in the cradle of his folded arms, which were propped up on the door, and soon enough he, too, had dozed off. In the backseat, tucked between the unconscious Noctis on your left, and Gladio on your right, you were rapidly succumbing to sleep yourself.

 

As Ignis drove back towards Lestallum, he glanced over at Prompto, then in the rearview mirror at Noctis, and saw that exhaustion had finally claimed its third victim; you had joined the other two in slumber, your head falling against Gladio’s ink-decorated upper arm. Thankfully, the big man didn’t seem to mind; he kept still, though he didn’t miss the way Ignis’s green eyes lingered on you for a moment longer than anyone else.

 

“Wanna talk about it?” Gladio asked suddenly, his voice quiet, so as not to wake the sleeping occupants of the car. It had been faint, but he was absolutely certain that he had detected the unmistakable musk of sex on both you and Ignis when he, Noctis, and Prompto had found you in the room where you had fallen after the bridge collapsed. It surprised him; the tactician had never been the type to do something so spontaneous, and in such a strange location. Privately, though, he was also a bit impressed, for those exact same reasons. Ignis was a very methodical man, someone who always preferred to not only have a plan, but several backups as well, and Gladio hadn’t thought he had it in him to do something like this.

 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Ignis replied, his voice equally soft. “We were freezing, and we needed a way to stay both warm and awake. I thought I had no other choice.”

 

“Ouch, Iggy. Don’t let her hear you say that. No woman wants to be told that you slept with them because you ‘had no other choice’. I thought you knew better than that.” Ignis normally had a silver tongue, but Gladio couldn’t help but think that the advisor had put his foot in his mouth this time. In the mirror, he saw Ignis raise one eyebrow.

 

“That is not what I meant. If I might explain?”

 

“Be my guest.”

 

“We’ve known each other since Noct was a mere child, so you know how I operate. Casual encounters are not my style.” That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t as susceptible to desire as the next man, but he’d always prided himself on having the self-control to resist…most of the time. But a man could only hold out for so long, and even though his patience was legendary, it wasn’t infinite.

 

He had reached the end of it in that cavern.

 

You had been pushing his buttons almost since day one, and the temptation to do something about that had been growing ever since, though it had only been reaching critical mass the past few months.

 

Realizing that Gladio was watching him intently, he continued before the silence drew out too long. “Under other circumstances, I never would have suggested what I did. But the cold was making her fall asleep, and I feared that I might not be too far behind. That spurred me into making the offer.” He sighed softly. “When I said that I thought I had no other choice, I was referring to my treatment of her. I regret only that I had to do it in the way that I did, and if I had the chance, I would do it properly.”

 

Gladio’s amber eyes narrowed slightly at these words, and a faint smile came to his face. “You would, huh?” he murmured, half to himself. It was about damn time. Over the time that you had been training for and serving in the Crownsguard, he had seen the looks that passed between you and Ignis when each thought the other wasn’t looking. They had only become more frequent in the past few weeks on the road. But given the added pressure that had been laid on everyone’s shoulders with the fall of the Crown City, you all knew that it was more imperative than ever that you focus on your duties, and that held all of you back from doing things that you ordinarily might have done in other circumstances. Because of that, Gladio had thought that the mutual attraction between the two of you would go unaddressed; at least until everything was resolved.

 

But it looked like he had been mistaken.

 

Ignis didn’t reply further, and within a couple of minutes, was pulling into the parking lot of the Lestallum Overlook. As he turned off the Regalia, he shook Prompto’s shoulder gently to wake him.

 

The blond raised his head, blinking sleepily. “Whassamatter?” he slurred, slowly returning to consciousness. As he looked around, he took in the familiar surroundings, and realized where he was. “Back already? That was fast.” He got out of the car, looking a bit more alert now that he knew a proper bed was waiting for him. He stretched, rubbing his back; the position he had fallen asleep in had made his spine ache a little.

 

In the backseat, Gladio nudged you, and as you began to stir, he reached around you, prodding Noctis into reluctantly opening his eyes. “Wake up, guys. There are beds in the Leville that are waiting for us. You can sleep there.” Though he had seemed awake at first, tiredness was tugging at him now, and he was looking forward to a long rest just as much as anyone else.

 

“Uh-uh,” Noctis muttered, his eyes closing once more. “Sleep _here_.” He sat bolt upright as Gladio yanked sharply on his ear, giving a startled yelp of pain and rubbing the abused flesh. “Ow! What was that for?”

 

“You’re not sleeping in the parking lot. Do I have to carry you to bed and tuck you in?” Nearby, he heard Prompto snicker, and he saw the smile that spread across your face. All of you knew that Gladio wouldn’t hesitate to back up his words with action, and four pairs of eyes turned to look at Noctis to see what he would do.

 

This had the desired effect; the threat was enough to wake up the drowsy prince, and he got out of the car, grumbling under his breath before turning towards the stairway that would take him to the city above. He led the way to the hotel, where the five of you were already checked in.

 

“Shall I order supper?” Ignis asked, glancing around at the group, most of whom were barely awake. Three heads shook a negative, and Gladio shrugged his broad shoulders.

 

“We’ll eat after we’ve had a nap,” the king’s shield said, knowing that Ignis probably wasn’t going to be pleased with this. The tactician wasn’t an advocate for skipping meals, but they both knew that no one would be able to stay awake long enough to eat it.

 

“Very well, then.” His lilting voice held a note of disapproval, though he was willing to let it slide this once.

 

Upon reaching the room that he shared with Gladio, Noctis flopped down on his bed, not even bothering to undress, and within moments, was sound asleep again. Gladio was a bit slower to follow; he removed his boots and tossed his jacket over the back of a nearby chair before stretching out on his bed, folding his arms behind his head.

 

In the adjoining room, Prompto had disappeared into the bathroom to change into his casual clothes, and when he emerged, crawled so far beneath his blankets that only the smallest wisps of blond hair could be seen. It seemed that the ride back to the city hadn’t been enough to completely warm him back up, you noticed with some amusement, even though you were in the same boat.

 

As you entered the room, you hesitated, looking between your bed and the bathroom. As tempted as you were to take a hot bath, and let it finish thawing you out, you knew there was a good chance that you would fall asleep in the middle of it, and you didn’t want to take that risk. Sleep first. Pausing just long enough to change into more comfortable clothes, you followed the others’ lead, climbing into your bed and curling up beneath the blankets.

 

Ignis brought up the rear; he made a quick stop in the other room, drawing closed the thick curtains that framed the windows in Noctis’s and Gladio’s room before doing the same in the one he shared with you and Prompto, cloaking the rooms in shadow to make it easier to sleep. Passing by Prompto’s bed, he placed a potion on the bedside table for the blond to find when he woke up. When that was done, he sat down on his own bed, turning on the small bedside lamp before propping himself up with his pillows and pulling out a small notebook. He tapped the end of a pen against his lips, thinking.

 

Taking out the notebook was more habit than because he actually planned to write anything down; ordinarily, he used the time when everyone was winding down for bed to toy with ideas for new recipes, but at the moment, he was thinking about something else. His conversation with Gladio had reinforced the truth behind what had happened in that cavern, and he needed to consider it more before he came to a solid decision.

 

He hadn’t been lying when he’d said that he didn’t regret doing it, though that didn’t mean he was pleased with the outcome. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do, and he had managed to make you climax to boot, but he could tell that it hadn’t been very strong; it had been more of a physical reaction dragged out of you than something you had truly enjoyed.

 

As he had told Gladio, he wanted a second chance to make it up to you. When he’d first made the suggestion to you, he had seen the way you acted, and had seen the interest in your eyes. For some time now, he had noticed the faint but definite crackle of sexual tension between the two of you whenever you got close to each other, but he had kept himself from acting on it.

 

Until now.

 

The only problem was that he didn’t know how well you had taken what had happened. You were the wild card in all of this. It all depended on whether or not your experience with him in the cavern had been good enough to keep your interest in him. There was a definite spark between the two of you, but he just didn’t know if his treatment of you had caused that spark to fizzle out, or if it had caught fire.

 

The two of you were now locked in a delicate dance, balanced on a knife’s edge of uncertainty. Only time would tell whether anything would come of this, but he planned to help things along just a bit, and prove to you just what kind of lover he could truly be.

 

Pulling out his phone, he called up an application, examining it. After a moment, a faint smile came to his face. Oh, yes… He had big plans, indeed.

 


	2. Part 2

It was fully night when you opened your eyes again. Sitting up with a yawn, you became aware of two things. One, you were not the first awake; the bed beside yours was empty; Prompto was already up, and had probably made his way downstairs to get something to eat.

 

The second thing you noticed was that the last person you had expected to sleep in was still in his bed. It looked like Ignis had fallen asleep while working on recipes; he was sitting up against the headboard, his small notebook propped open in his lap. A pen was grasped loosely in his hand, and he hadn’t even removed his glasses before dozing off.

 

Quietly, you slipped out of bed, creeping over to him. There was a gentle smile on your face as you carefully slid his glasses off, placing them on the small table that was next to the bed. Ignis was always awake long before everyone else, so you very rarely got to see him sleeping. It was quite the treat to see him completely relaxed like this.

 

Turning away, you made a detour to the bathroom for a quick shower before heading downstairs, looking around. Your wayward roommate was nowhere to be found, but you spotted one of uniformed men behind the counter gesturing to you. When you made your way over to him, he gave you a friendly smile. “Good evening, ma’am. Your friends left for Surgate’s Beanmine less than an hour ago; they requested that you meet them there when you awoke.”

 

You nodded, returning his smile with a somewhat tired one of your own. “Thank you.” As you left the hotel, you had to pause, looking around. Lestallum really only came alive after the sun set; the plant at the edge of the city had released its workers, and the streets were filled with more people than during the day. Even from where you were, you could smell the various food stalls that were tucked away on the many streets, but none of them were the restaurant you were looking for. You’d had a quick look around when you and the others had first reached Lestallum, so you had a vague idea of where you were going, but you wanted to be sure. The streets were narrow and winding; easy to get lost in, and you wanted to avoid that.

 

Finally, you headed off, and before long, you spotted your missing companions sitting at a table in front of the restaurant. Gladio was reclined in his chair, reading a book, while Prompto was flicking through the images on his camera.

 

Prompto looked up as you approached, flashing you a bright smile. “Good morning, (Name)!” he chirped, and you had to smile in return. The scrape that had been on his face was gone, you saw; he must have used a potion on himself at some point.

 

“Technically, it would be “good evening”,” you corrected him as you sat down across from Gladio, somewhat amused – and a little bewildered – that he could have so much energy after only a handful of hours of rest. You still felt exhausted, and probably could have slept for longer, if you had simply stayed in bed. Perhaps Noctis and Ignis were the smart ones, although you were sure that the prince’s advisor had gotten the least amount of rest out of everyone, so if anyone deserved to sleep in, he did.

 

“Sorry about not waiting for you,” Gladio said, putting his book aside, propping one elbow up on the table and stretching his long legs out in front of him. He had changed into his casual attire, you noticed, and the sleeveless muscle shirt gave you a better view of the intricate falcon tattoo that wound its way across his upper torso and arms.

 

“Noct could sleep into the middle of next week, and we didn’t want to take that chance. All that dungeon-crawling made us hungry,” Prompto added, making you smile. Trust him to use a phrase like ‘dungeon-crawling’, even though it was technically accurate in this case. “Iggy isn’t going to be happy that we left him behind, though. You know how he feels about all of us eating together.”

 

“I think he’ll forgive us, in this case, seeing as how he’s also still sleeping,” you commented, gentle amusement in your voice.

 

“I know.” The blond’s grin turned devilish, and he held up his camera, pressing a few buttons on it before tilting the viewing window towards you. “Check this out.”

 

You leaned over, and to your delight, saw that Prompto had taken a picture of the sleeping Ignis, looking exactly the way he had when you’d found him. “I want a copy of that picture,” you told him, not wanting such a rare photo to be lost, since you didn’t know if you would ever see anything like it again.

 

“Sure; I’ll make one for all of us. We can use it against him when he wakes us up too early.”

 

“You’re evil,” you told him, nudging him and making him laugh.

 

“I know. But I wear it well, don’t I?” As you started to straighten again, Prompto suddenly went still, cocking his head to the side, and you realized that he was staring at a spot low on your neck. “What is _that_?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

 

Your blood ran cold; you knew _exactly_ where he was looking, and what he must be looking at. Ignis had been very careful with his attentions to your neck, but then you remembered those final moments: in an attempt to push you over the edge into your climax, he had bitten that spot on your throat, and it hadn’t been gentle. It must have left a mark.

 

“What is what?” you asked, feigning innocence.

 

“That!” In the absence of a mirror, Prompto used his camera, snapping a picture of the mark before you could tell him not to, turning the device around so you could see it. Sure enough, there was a dark blotch on your skin , just above your collarbone. It was small, but still noticeable. “It looks like a bruise, or…” A sly look came to his face, which transformed into a knowing smirk. “…or a _hickey_.”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. I fell on a piece of ice when that bridge collapsed; I have bruises everywhere.”

 

“Oh, really…” Just by the expression on his face, you could see that his mind had warped your statement, turning it into something completely different than what you had intended.

 

You snapped your fingers in front of him, calling his attention back to you. “Hey, mind out of the gutter! You know what I meant.”

 

The entire time, Gladio had a faint smile on his face; it was your misfortune that Ignis had apparently left a mark on you, and that the gunman had been the one to spot it; he wasn’t going to let this go. You had inadvertently opened yourself up to his teasing, and Gladio was familiar enough with him to know that he was going to take full advantage of it.

 

“Easy, Prompto,” the king’s shield warned, seeing the way you were eyeing the blond young man. “She knows where you sleep, so I’d think very carefully about what you say, unless you want to wake up tomorrow morning in the middle of a killer wasp’s nest.”

 

Prompto’s response was interrupted by the arrival of their food, much to your relief. You didn’t know how much more of his teasing you could take before you accidentally let something slip. Your poker face had never been very strong, and knowing that he already didn’t believe you just made things that much worse.

 

You were somewhat surprised when a plate was set in front of you, as well, and you looked up with an arched eyebrow.

 

“We ordered for you,” Gladio explained, sitting upright in his chair. “We got something for Ignis and Noctis, too, whenever they decide to get up.”

 

“No need to wait on our account,” a smooth, accented voice cut in, and you turned to see Ignis standing behind you, dressed in his casual clothes. At his side was a still-drowsy Noctis, who yawned widely. Clearly, he had been woken up before he was ready, and forced out of bed. Ignis circled around the table, taking a seat between you and Gladio and crossing one long leg over the other, while the prince sat down on Gladio’s other side. “My apologies; I wasn’t intending to sleep as long as I did.”

 

“Iggy, it hasn’t even been five hours since we got back, and if I know you, you didn’t go to bed immediately. That hardly qualifies as oversleeping,” Gladio said, knowing that the tactician wouldn’t agree. If he wasn’t awake before anyone else, he considered it sleeping too late.

 

“Tell me about it,” Noctis grumbled, dropping his head down onto the table with a sigh. “I could have used a few more hours.” Obtaining and harnessing the immense power of the Royal Arms utterly drained him, and he always slept later than usual afterwards. …when he was allowed to, at least.

 

“Supper first,” Ignis said firmly, reaching across the table and lifting the prince’s head from its surface, knowing that the black-haired young man would doze off again if left alone. “Then you can go back to sleep, if you must. None of us have eaten in more than twenty-four hours, and I wasn’t about to leave you in the hotel by yourself.”

 

“I’m not a kid; I don’t need a babysitter.”

 

“No, but you _are_ the prince of Lucis, and as such, you need to be protected.” He lowered the volume of his voice as he said this, not wanting anyone to overhear his words.

 

Noctis sat back in his chair, perking up a bit when his own food arrived, along with Ignis’s. As tired as he was, he was equally hungry, and unlike before, that hunger won out over his exhaustion.

 

As you all ate, Prompto’s eyes continuously flicked between you and Ignis, studying each of you. He was convinced that something had happened between the two of you; the mark on your throat was a deep red, rather than the usual purple of a bruise, and he knew that it hadn’t come from a piece of ice. Someone had left it there, and the only one who could have done that was currently sitting across from him.

 

But neither of you were acting any differently towards each other, and that had him questioning what he thought he knew. He was aware that Ignis was a master of self-control, so it came as no surprise that he was behaving as he normally did, but he was starting to think that you were a better actress than he first gave you credit for. You had remained entirely calm under his questioning; he’d thought you would at least blush a little, and give yourself away.

 

His impish nature made him want to push further, just to see if he could break the façade he was sure you had raised around yourself. Ignis, he didn’t even bother with; the tactician was much too composed for that, and he would just be wasting his time.

 

“So,” he said casually, pushing his empty plate away and sitting back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head, “did you guys keep yourselves busy while we were looking for you?”

 

You almost choked on your drink. Almost. Hidden beneath the table, out of sight of everyone except you, Ignis’s fingers twitched in his lap. It was faint, so subtle you might have imagined it, but you were almost certain that Prompto’s words had had the barest effect on him.

 

You were going to have to play this _very_ carefully, you knew. He was on the alert, and if you gave him the slightest opening, he would take it. Swirling the ice around in your glass, you crossed one leg over the other, buying a moment of time to think about what you were going to say.

 

“Well,” you said at last, “we could have done with a faster rescue. Not much to do when you’re trapped inside an ice cave, and neither one of us are very good conversationalists.”

 

“I beg your pardon, but I happen to be very good at conversation,” Ignis replied mildly.

 

Prompto had to admit that he was impressed with your smooth reply; he’d hoped the unexpectedness of the question would be enough to ruffle you into letting something slip, but you remained steady. Not only that, but you’d drawn in Ignis, and he had been just as calm.

 

The tactician spoke up, then. “You never did explain that business with that snake,” he reminded the gunman.

 

The blue-eyed young man wanted to protest about having both of you teaming up against him, but that would be admitting that he was up to something. But before he could reply, Noctis picked up the story.

 

“Right after you guys fell, something snatched up Prompto, dragging him deeper into the cave. It was some kind of giant snake, but it had a woman’s face. It started talking about its baby, thinking we had it.” He paused. “Still don’t know what that was about.”

 

You arched one eyebrow, looking between Prompto and Noctis. “Are you saying that thing took Prompto because it thought he was its baby?” There was amusement in your voice as you asked this.

 

“Oh, come on, it did _not_! It probably took me because it thought it could get information if it had a hostage.”

 

“I’m not so sure,” Gladio said, a grin on his face. “That thing was hugging you pretty tightly when we found you. I think it was about ten seconds away from singing you a lullaby.”

 

Prompto grimaced as the table erupted into laughter, and even Ignis hid a chuckle behind one gloved hand. “Really, guys?” he grumbled as Noctis patted him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size?” he asked Gladio, though you all could see a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he took the teasing in stride.

 

“Why would I do that, when picking on you is so much more fun?”

 

“Okay, pal, then I volunteer _you_ for the next monster kidnapping victim!”

 

When everyone had finished eating, the five of you made your way back towards the Leville, but as you drew closer to it, you noticed that Ignis was beginning to lag behind. When you glanced back at him, he gestured to you, and you paused, allowing the other three to disappear around a corner before making your way over to him.

 

“Might I ask you to come with me for a time? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” he said. His eyes flicked downward, and you knew that he was looking at the mark on your throat, exactly as Prompto had done. “Ah…my apologies; I tried to take care not to do that.”

 

You reached up, touching the mark with your fingertips. “I think Prompto has figured it out. I told him that it was just a bruise, but he didn’t buy it.”

 

“Yes… He certainly did seem to be fishing for answers.” He decided not to mention the fact that Gladio knew, as well; you didn’t seem pleased about Prompto, and this might only make things worse. But this could prove to be a problem. If you didn’t want anyone else to know, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to convince you to give him a second chance. “I could have a word with him.”

 

You considered for a moment. “No, it’s all right. Let him have his fun.” The teasing between you and the other four members had never bothered you; in fact, you quite liked it. It made you feel closer to them, and brought the light of laughter to many serious situations. Prompto in particular always took the chance when it was presented to him, and it just so happened that you and Ignis were in the spotlight this time.

 

“Very well, then. Shall we?”

 

At your nod, he led the way back to the main street on the edge of the city, and you realized that he was taking you to the Overlook. Though the city itself was more alive than ever with the onset of nightfall, the outskirts were quiet, and the two of you were alone on the scenic plateau. Upon reaching it, he moved to the edge, resting his hands on the wall and gazing over it with his back to you.

 

Silently, you waited to hear what he had called you here for.

 

“In the hills behind Lestallum, there’s rumored to be a certain structure… Have you heard of it?” Straightening, he turned back to face you again.

 

“No, I haven’t,” you admitted.

 

This made the shadow of a smile appear on his face. Excellent; if you knew nothing about it, he would be able to surprise you. _If_ you agreed, in any case. “We should be staying here for a couple of days, to give Noctis a chance to recover his strength. Would you like to see it? I can guarantee a memorable experience.”

 

Your head tilted slightly to the side, and you narrowed your eyes. “What is this about?” you asked after a moment. It wasn’t that you were displeased by the turn things had taken, but you wanted a glimpse into his thought process before you agreed to anything.

 

Ignis leaned back against the wall, considering his words. “I’m…not proud of my behavior in that cavern,” he said at last. “And if you’ll allow it, I would like the opportunity to prove that I’m not the man you saw in there. You deserve better treatment than what I gave you.”

 

Closing your eyes, you let out your breath in a soft sigh. “Ignis, you don’t have to prove anything to me. I know who you are, and what happened was…necessary, under the circumstances. I don’t blame you for how things turned out, and I’m not upset about it.” You didn’t want him to feel obligated to do something like this just to make a point, no matter how curious you were about what he had come up with.

 

He stepped forward, curling one gloved finger beneath your chin and tilting your head back. Because he was a good deal taller than you, you had to look up at a sharp angle to meet his gaze. He studied your expression closely, trying to discern whether you were telling him the truth. You felt his hand move down, and his thumb brushed against the base of your throat, running over the mark he had left. Unconsciously, you shivered, making him arch one eyebrow. It seemed that your neck was more sensitive than he’d first thought.

 

“Say yes,” he murmured, those stunningly green eyes locked with yours. His thumb traced back up the center of your throat, sliding over your chin until he reached your lips, the soft leather gliding over them. It was getting more and more difficult to keep his hands off of you, he realized; now that he’d had a taste, it was like a dam had been broken open. As he did this, he watched as your pupils slowly expanded, and your breathing quickened. He hadn’t imagined it in that cavern; you were attracted to him. So why were you resisting?

 

Your heart pounded in your chest; the way that he kept caressing you, tenderly, almost lovingly, was making your body heat up in the most delightful way. Every movement he made was sensual – but then, he had always been that way, even when he performed the most mundane tasks.

 

Suddenly, you reached up, your fingers curling around his arm, though you didn’t pull his hand away from your face. Still, you saw him freeze, and you knew that he was wondering if he had crossed a line.

 

“I’ll agree on two conditions,” you told him, feeling yourself becoming bolder as arousal saturated your blood.

 

“Yes?”

 

You took a deep breath. Though there were many things you could have asked for, there were only two things that you wanted at the moment. You just hoped that you didn’t end up regretting this.

 

“First condition… Well, it’s more of a request, really. In that cave, you called me something. Will you do it again?”

 

This made a smile tug at the corners of his lips, and he studied you for a moment, taking in the steadiness with which you were watching him. He had seen that look before; you had a streak of stubbornness in you, and it was alive now; you weren’t going to leave here without getting what you wanted. That was fine with him, especially since it also revealed something he hadn’t realized; he’d said that endearment without thinking about it the first time, and you hadn’t reacted to it, so he had thought nothing of it, thinking that perhaps you hadn’t even really been listening to him. But now he knew you liked it, and he made a mental note to use it more often. Cautiously, though; he didn’t know if you would still feel the same if he did it in front of the others.

 

“Gladly, darling.”

 

Hearing that word coming from his mouth, shaped by the lilting accent that had drawn you in from the first moment you’d heard him speak, made your body tingle, and you had to swallow hard as your mouth went dry. “My second condition…” you began, your voice quieter now. You paused and cleared your throat. “My second condition. You have to kiss me.”

 

Ignis tilted his head slightly to the side; he could get used to conditions like these. And truthfully, your words were a relief, since he was just moments away from doing that anyway.

 

His free arm wrapped around your waist, and he pulled you against him, leaning down. He peppered your lips with gentle kisses, each one lingering a little longer than its predecessor. Unlike before, they were soft and sweet, rather than hard and heated. You melted against him, your hand falling away from his wrist and finding placement on his side instead. This was completely different than what you had experienced with him in that cavern. That had been born of desperation; awkward fumblings and discomfort on both your parts. It was something you were ready to forget about.

 

But _this_ …

 

It wasn’t the kiss of passion you had been expecting, and you felt your blood cooling just a bit. But the feeling that replaced it…You wanted to hold on to it forever. The way you felt in his arms, like you and he were the only ones in the world, made you forget about your current circumstances. In this moment, you could believe that nothing had happened, and that the two of you were back in Insomnia, without the weight of the world resting on your shoulders. You hadn’t thought anything would ever make you feel like this again.

 

When he finally pulled back, you refused to let go of him, wanting to cling to the moment he had inadvertently created for you. But it had passed, and you were returned to reality, however unwillingly. It wasn’t all bad, though, as you were still in his hold, and even as you looked up at him, he reached up, softly brushing a lock of hair back out of your face.

 

“Did I meet your conditions to your satisfaction?” he asked, though he already knew the answer just by looking at you.

 

Slowly, you nodded. There was no way that you were going to deny him after what he had just given you, even though he was unaware of it. “Yeah. I’ll go with you.”

 

He nodded. “Unfortunately, you aren’t the only one with conditions. I can’t take you immediately; we must wait until the right time for the full effect,” he told you, making you frown in confusion. That hadn’t been what you were expecting at all, but now you were more curious than ever.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

A mysterious smile came to his face. “Ah… If I told you, I believe that would ruin part of the experience. So I must ask you to trust me. Can you do that?”

 

Your answer was firm and without hesitation. “Of course.” Trust had never been an issue in the group; all five of you had been in hundreds of battles with each other, and all of them had always had your back when you’d needed it, just as you had always been there for them. That had instilled a deep sense of faith in all of you, and in turn, allowed you to answer him without even needing to think about it.

 

“The day after tomorrow,” he told you, smiling at your swift and confident reply. “That will be the opportune moment.”

 

Finally releasing him, you took a step back. The way he said that with such certainty… “You already have this planned out, don’t you?”

 

His voice was amused as he answered. “You expected otherwise?”

 

“No, not really.” Truthfully, you would have been more surprised if he’d done all of this on a whim. Ignis always seemed to be at least three steps ahead of everyone else; it was a gift of his, and it was why he was not only Noctis’s advisor, but the Crownsguard’s tactician as well.

 

But two days… You were looking forward to this, even moreso because you had no idea what he was coming up with. Something that involved a building didn’t tell you anything, but you also didn’t want to pry further. Not knowing was part of the fun.

 

“For now, it’s getting late. You should head back to the hotel before someone comes to retrieve us,” he told you.

 

“What about you?”

 

“I have no qualms about returning with you, but I was under the impression that you would prefer the others not know about…this.” Both of you knew that this couldn’t be kept secret for much longer, but he was willing to let it play out for as long as possible before you were confronted about it – probably by Prompto, since Gladio already had confirmation from Ignis himself, and Noctis hadn’t seemed to notice anything yet. It wouldn’t last much longer, though; in two days, everyone would know – it was unavoidable.

 

“I’ll do a bit of shopping before I go back,” he continued after a moment, turning back towards the city, “but I will take you as far as the hotel’s forecourt.”

 

This made you smile. “Escorting me back to the hotel? Why do I feel like this is the end of a first date?” Both of you knew that you didn’t need an escort; you were more than capable of taking care of yourself, and Lestallum was a friendly place – you would have been perfectly safe walking the streets alone after dark. But Ignis was a gentleman; he wouldn’t abandon you on the side of the road to go back on your own.

 

“I prefer to think of it more as a prelude to the actual event,” he replied as you followed him out of the parking lot and up the staircase that would take you into the city. “The Overlook is beautiful, but I have other plans; something I hope will be even more stunning than this view.”

 

Well, _that_ was an interesting little tidbit of information he had just given you, and it set your mind alight with potential possibilities for what he had in store.

 

“Sounds like it’ll be something to remember,” you commented.

 

“I promised as much, did I not?”

 

It was a short walk back to the Leville, and you paused outside of the hotel, turning to look at Ignis once more. “I’ll leave you to your shopping, then,” you told him. As you turned to go, you suddenly felt him take your hand, and glanced back at him curiously.

 

“If this _was_ the end of a first date, then it’s lacking something very important.” He angled you towards him, resting his hands on your upper arms, and before you had a chance to say anything, he had placed a gentle kiss on your lips. Just one, there and gone almost before it even registered in your mind. “ _Now_ it’s complete.”

 

You watched as he turned away, disappearing down a side street that would take him to the market. Slowly, you shook your head. Complete indeed… And it wasn’t even an actual date. Even though you had told him that he didn’t need to prove himself to you, it seemed that he was determined to do it anyway. And you were quite looking forward to the experience.

 

With a faint smile on your face, you headed into the hotel, making your way up to the room you shared with him and Prompto.

 

* * *

 

 

As Prompto, Noctis, and Gladio entered the hotel, the blond gunman realized that their group of five had been reduced to three. At some point, you and Ignis had vanished. Though he had been left in doubt about the potential relationship budding between you and the tactician, now he was becoming more certain.

 

But he wasn’t the only one who had noticed the sudden disappearances.

 

At the foot of the stairs that led up to the rooms, Noctis paused, looking around. “Hey, where did Ignis and (Name) go?”

 

Prompto glanced over at him. “I think they took off right after we left the restaurant,” he answered.

 

Noctis blinked, his stormy blue eyes reflecting a hint of surprise. “Huh… How long has _that_ been going on?” He hadn’t thought the two of you had been overly close with each other… But then again, he’d been distracted with other things, so it was possible that he’d simply overlooked it. But to think, his straight-laced advisor had beaten them all to the punch. Ignis had never shown the inclination to take  a lover in the past, so this caught him off-guard.

 

“Couldn’t say. I think it’s pretty new, though,” Prompto replied as they reached their rooms. Noctis sat down on the edge of his bed, while Gladio stretched out on his, crossing one ankle over the other. Prompto himself was lounging next to the window, tapping at his phone and toying with the idea of challenging Noctis to a round of their favorite game, King’s Knight. He sat back in his chair, propping his feet up on the windowsill.

 

“The two of you could learn a few things from him,” Gladio rumbled, taking out the book he was currently reading and propping it open in his lap. “I’d take notes, if I were you. If anyone knows how to treat a woman, it’s Iggy.”

 

This made Noctis arch one eyebrow. “Does that include you, too?” he asked slyly, knowing the shield’s reputation for shameless flirting, if nothing else. But something could be said about the amber-eyed man; though he had a silver tongue to rival Ignis’s at times, he was a gentleman himself when it came to his treatment of the fairer sex.

 

“I wouldn’t go _that_ far. I’ve picked up a few tricks myself over the years. You could do worse than having us for teachers.”

 

“Kind of hard to take notes when they’re not around,” Prompto pointed out, putting his phone down on the table and folding his arms behind his head. Suddenly, he leaned forward, looking out the window. “Huh…might have spoken too soon…”

 

You and Ignis had just appeared in the courtyard in front of the hotel, and he saw you say something to the green-eyed man, preparing to turn away. In the instant that Ignis reached out and took hold of you, Prompto had raised his camera. With the speed of a professional, he had zoomed in, adjusted the focus, and snapped a picture.

 

“Prompto…” Gladio warned from behind him.

 

“S’okay, Gladio. I’m not doing this for me. I think they’ll both want a record of this…eventually,” the blond replied, never taking his eyes off the scene unfolding below. Another picture was taken as you turned back to look at Ignis, and a third as he put his hands on your upper arms, stepping a bit closer. A fourth when Ignis’s lips met your own. And a final picture as the tactician broke away, capturing the tender expression on your face as you watched him go.

 

Slowly, Prompto lowered his camera as he lost sight of you, knowing that you were on your way up to the rooms. Sitting back in his chair once more, he scrolled through the images he had just taken. The soft lighting on the street below set the mood perfectly, and he was confident that he had gotten some good shots. Unfortunately, he knew that he would have to wait to show them to his unwitting models, especially considering the cool deflection you had given him when he’d brought up the suggestion of you and Ignis being a couple at the restaurant.

 

Soon, the door opened, and you entered the room. Three pairs of eyes glanced up, and Prompto gave you his trademark brilliant smile. “And then there were four.” He peered around you, looking out into the hallway. “Where’s Ignis?”

 

“He said he had some shopping to do,” you replied, closing the door before moving over to the table and taking a seat across from him. His attention had returned to his camera, and that piqued your interest. Bracing yourself on your arms, you leaned forward, trying to get a look at what was on the viewing window that had him so interested.

 

Prompto glanced up at you, and teasingly tilted the camera down so you couldn’t see anything.

 

This made you sit back, arching one eyebrow curiously. “Since when are you so shy about showing off your pictures?” you asked. He’d never done that before; normally he freely shared his photos with whoever wanted to see them.

 

“I’m working on a collection that I’m not ready to show anyone yet,” he told you. It wasn’t strictly true; he would have shown anyone else – including you, if he thought the pictures would have a warm reception. But he was wary; he didn’t want to have to delete the photos, and he was sure that, once you were ready to share with everyone that you and Ignis were together, you would want to keep them.

 

Slowly, you nodded. “All right, then. I’ll wait until it’s finished.” It was too bad, really; you always enjoyed looking at the photos Prompto took each day, and you knew he enjoyed showing them off.

 

“Don’t worry,” he assured you, seeing the disappointed expression on your face. “I’ll be able to show them to you soon.” It was only a matter of time before something happened to out your relationship; something more concrete than a not-so-mysterious mark on your throat. He didn’t know why you were hiding it, really. Everyone already knew about it. You just didn’t know that they knew.

 

“I look forward to it.” You gave him a smile.

 

Half an hour later, the door opened again, and Ignis walked in, a bag tucked under one arm. Putting it down on the floor, he took a seat between you and Prompto.

 

“There you are, Iggy. We were about to send a search party out for you,” Gladio said, putting his book down for a moment.

 

Ignis checked the clock that hung on the wall. “Is it truly so late? The time got away from me; I wanted to replenish our supply of curatives while I had the chance.” His decision not to go to bed immediately upon returning to the hotel earlier was beginning to wear on him; he was exhausted now.

 

Propping your head up in one hand, you glanced over at him; he looked like he was seconds away from falling asleep. But suddenly, both of you were startled as the loud click of a shutter went off, shattering the comfortable silence that had settled over the room, and your gaze immediately went to Prompto. He gave Ignis, who was looking at him sternly, a sheepish grin.

 

“C’mon, how often do I get a shot of everyone relaxing like this? How could I pass up such a golden opportunity?” he defended himself. “Look, see for yourself.” He turned the camera around so the green-eyed man could see it clearly.

 

Ignis adjusted his glasses, leaning forward with a long-suffering sigh, and studied the image Prompto had captured. Truthfully, it was a good photo – but then, most of the pictures he took were. Because of the angle, he had managed to get all four of you in the shot; Gladio and Noctis were in the background, the king’s shield reading his book with one arm folded behind his head, while Noctis was sprawled on his own bed, his face illuminated by the screen of his phone. In the foreground between them was Ignis, his hands folded on the top of the table, and his eyes barely open. Rounding out the group on the far right, you were gazing at Ignis with a look of gentle amusement, the barest hint of a smile curving up your lips.

 

The tactician gave a soft hum. “I suppose it’s worth keeping,” he said at last, making Prompto grin.

 

The blond angled the camera towards you, allowing you to get a look at it. Your eyebrows raised in response as you took in what you were seeing. The timing of the photo was nearly perfect; you could see how calm and at ease everyone was. The moment had been captured before the sound of the shutter had startled you and Ignis, so you were able to take in his sleepy expression, and yours… You could see the affection reflected in your eyes, and you knew that he and Prompto had been able to see it, too.

 

But in this moment, that didn’t bother you as much as it otherwise might have. Instead, you were glad that Prompto had taken the picture. He was right; it was a rare opportunity, and he had made the most of it.

 

At last, you looked up at him, giving him an approving smile and a nod. “Definitely save that one,” you told him.

 

Turning the camera back towards himself, he pressed a button on the screen, then put the device aside, sitting back in his chair with a pleased expression on his face.

 

Not long after, Ignis stood, surprising you all. “I’m for bed,” he commented.

 

Behind him, Gladio closed his book, sitting up. “This is a first. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go to sleep before any of us, especially Noct.”

 

“Uncalled for, Gladio!”

 

“I’m aware,” the tactician replied. “But it seems I underestimated how tired I was from our time in the cavern, and I may fall asleep here at the table if I remain.”

 

You certainly wouldn’t have complained about that; Ignis was always so in-control of himself and everything that he did that it was a treat to get to see him lose some of that control, even if it was in such a simple way as dozing off in an unconventional place. Then again, now you had two pictures of him like this to look at whenever you wanted, once Prompto made physical copies of them.

 

As he disappeared into the second bedroom, you glanced around. Just by the atmosphere, you could tell that everyone was still tired, though Ignis was the only one who seemed on the verge of dozing off. Even Noctis was still awake, though he had put his phone aside and was now idly gazing up at the ceiling through half-lidded eyes.

 

“I think it’s about time we call it a night,” Gladio said eventually, closing his book and putting it on the bedside table.

 

Prompto stood up, taking his camera with him. “’night, guys,” he said, tossing a wave over his shoulder as he retreated to his own bed. You were close behind him, kicking off your boots and removing your gloves before you climbed under your blankets, turning off the lamp at your bedside before curling up.

 

The room was plunged into darkness as Prompto switched off his own lamp, but you weren’t ready to go to sleep just yet. Instead, you let your mind wander back to the photo he had shown you. Anyone who looked at it would be able to see your affection for Ignis; it was written plainly on your face.

 

You wouldn’t be able to keep it secret for much longer.

 

And really, you hadn’t wanted to do that in the first place. The truth was, you didn’t want to tell anyone because you didn’t know how it would be received. Given everything that had happened, now wasn’t the time to be sidetracked by a relationship. The fact that it was with another member of the Crownsguard was both a positive and a negative; it meant that your mind wasn’t always drifting away to someone who wasn’t there, but at the same time, it meant that you and Ignis were going to be worried about each other every time you were in battle – worried beyond what you ordinarily would be for a comrade. You knew that your focus needed to be on Noctis, and keeping him safe.

 

The question was, were you confident enough that you could do both? Could you have a relationship with the tactician and still be able to focus on your duties? That was what held you back. It seemed that Ignis didn’t have this same worry, but he had always been the best in the group at compartmentalizing. It was never a problem for him to identify exactly what was most important in the moment, and focus only on that.

 

Maybe it was something he could teach you.

 

You turned over onto your back, glancing to your right, where you could barely make out the shape of Ignis underneath his own blankets. It was impossible to tell whether he was still awake or not, but his breathing was slow and even, making you think he was probably asleep.

 

But it seemed that you weren’t going to be as fortunate. Sleep eluded you, and finally, you sat up with a quiet sigh, knowing that simply laying there wasn’t going to bring you rest. Your mind was just too full.

 

Quietly climbing out from beneath your blankets, you pulled on your boots and crept over to the door. It opened almost soundlessly, allowing you to slip out into the hall unnoticed. You made your way downstairs, where you were greeted by a slightly confused concierge; it seemed that the hotels guests rarely made late-night outings.

 

Before you even had a destination in mind, your legs were carrying you out of the hotel, and back towards the Overlook. You needed to think about this a little more, and what better place to do it than where Ignis had made it clear that he wanted more than what had happened in that icy cavern?

 

As you reached the quiet plateau, you moved over to the stone wall, folding your arms across the top and leaning against it. A warm breeze blew past you, ruffling your hair. With the sunset, the temperature had dropped somewhat, so it wasn’t overwhelmingly hot, and you found it quite pleasant, especially with the breeze.

 

In the distance, you could hear footsteps, but you didn’t think anything about it at first, thinking that it was just another night owl passing by on the way to take care of their own business. It wasn’t until they drew closer that you realized they sounded familiar, and you turned around to see Gladio standing a short distance behind you, his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching you with an expression of mild amusement.

 

“Gladio. How did you find me? I thought I was quiet enough that I didn’t wake anyone up.”

 

“I wouldn’t be a very good shield if I let people slip by me in the dark. Trying to make a run for it? You won’t get very far this late.” He stepped forward, placing his own large hands on the wall. “Sneaking out in the middle of the night without telling anyone…good way to scare someone if they wake up to find your bed empty, with you nowhere to be found.”

 

“You know me better than that. I wouldn’t go too far away, and Lestallum is safe. Even here, outside of the city, the lights keep the daemons away. Besides, doesn’t that apply to you, as well? I’m guessing you didn’t tell anyone where _you_ were going, either.” You gave him a small smile.

 

“No, but I don’t think anyone is going to worry about _me_.”

 

“That’s not true-” you started to say, but your voice trailed off when you saw the way he was looking at you. The expression in his warm amber eyes told you that you didn’t have to worry about your secret getting out anymore. It already had. And unlike Prompto, whom you thought was still uncertain, Gladio had no doubts.

 

“You know,” you murmured at last. It wasn’t a question. “Since when?”

 

“Since the cave. Something like that isn’t easy to hide, if you know what you’re looking for, and I did.”

 

With a sigh, you looked away from him, gazing back out into the dark canyon below. “Nothing gets past you, does it?” Absently, you reached up, your fingertips brushing across the mark at the base of your throat. “I didn’t want it to start like that. I intended to wait until we made it to Altissia before I said anything – and I hadn’t decided that I was going to – but then…everything fell apart. Noctis is our first priority. I know that; I accept it. But I don’t know…if I can just go back to the way things were. Not anymore. I never meant to keep it a secret, but I thought, if everyone knew…”

 

“Can you still focus on your duties as Crownsguard?” he asked suddenly, and you could hear sternness in his deep voice. The question was almost a challenge.

 

Abruptly, you whirled around, your expression fierce and your spine stiff. “I didn’t train for years just to throw it all away at the most important moment. Insomnia’s fall hit me just as hard as it did you guys, and I’m not about to stop fighting to take it back. It’s my home, and Noct’s father was just as much my king as he was yours. I might not have been born knowing that I would one day be a member of the Crownsguard like you were, but I take my responsibilities just as seriously as you, Prompto, or Ignis.”

 

For several long moments, you and Gladio simply stared at each other, caught in a deadlock, neither one of you willing to be the first to look away. Even though you had never outright clashed with the typically mild-mannered shield, his words had left you seething. It wasn’t often that you lost your temper, but when you did, the results could be explosive…and reckless.

 

Gladio arched one eyebrow. You were small even by normal standards, barely clearing five feet, and compared to him, you were downright _tiny_ , the top of your head only reaching halfway up his chest, yet here you were glaring at him with an expression that could stop an angry griffon in its tracks. In this moment, you were absolutely fearless, and he could tell that you were ready to back up your words with actions, if that was what it came down to, even though your opponent would be twice your size. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all.

 

Finally, his expression softened, and he smiled, reaching out to place a massive hand on your shoulder, almost toppling you in the process.

 

“Okay, spitfire, settle down. I wasn’t trying to ruffle your feathers. I just wanted to make sure your priorities hadn’t changed.”

 

“They’ll _never_ change,” you replied, your words still holding a faint bite. “I _will_ see Noctis on the throne of Lucis, and I’ll continue to serve him as Kingsglaive, if he’ll have me.”

 

Gladio nodded, and you thought you detected a hint of pride in his amber eyes. “Hold on to that conviction,” he told you, removing his hand from your shoulder. “This isn’t going to be an easy journey, and you’ll need something to keep you going. But I think you’ll have _two_ things now.”

 

Your brow furrowed slightly in confusion. “What do you mean?”

 

He jerked his thumb back towards the direction of the hotel. “Your pride as a Crownsguard member, and Iggy.”

 

You blinked, the rest of the hostility draining from your body. Had he just given you his blessing? Even though you knew that you didn’t need anyone else’s permission to have a relationship, you couldn’t deny that it felt nice, knowing the closest thing Ignis had to a best friend approved of you.

 

Before you could even formulate a response, Gladio had continued speaking. “He needs to learn to loosen up a little, and you might be able to help him do it.” He wouldn’t admit it to you, but he had already seen a slight change in the normally straight-laced man, though it might have simply been because he was overly tired at the time, and couldn’t keep up his veneer of self-control the way he normally did.

 

Speaking of overly tired, though…

 

He reached out again, placing his hand between your shoulderblades and steering you back towards the staircase that led to the streets above. “Come on; let’s head to bed. We don’t want Iggy yelling at us for oversleeping in the morning.”

 

“He doesn’t do that when we stay in hotels,” you pointed out, but you allowed him to guide you along regardless. It was a massive weight off your mind to know that at least one member of your group was all right with the relationship that was blossoming between you and the tactician, but you still had to tell one other person.

 

Noctis himself.

 

You didn’t think the prince would disapprove, but you were still wary, especially seeing how Gladio had reacted. Granted, that had been more or less a bluff to make sure you remembered where you stood in regards to your duties, but still. The only one you weren’t really worried about was Prompto; he would probably smile and laugh it off, saying he had known it all along.

 

By the time you reached your rooms in the hotel, you were ready to collapse. As Gladio disappeared into the one he shared with Noctis, you crept back inside your own, feeling your way carefully through the darkness until you reached your bed. But as you kicked off your boots, you paused, looking over to your left. Your eyes were slowly adjusting, so you were able to make out a darker shadow against the blackness where Ignis slept in his bed, oblivious to the midnight walk you had taken.

 

You straightened, considering. There might be a quick and easy way to let everyone know about what was going on. The beds were more than big enough for two, but… Would it be too much too soon? Then again, you had already been with Ignis in the most intimate sense, so literally sharing a bed after that didn’t seem like such a big issue. It was so tempting, and the way Ignis had been behaving, he didn’t seem to have a problem with you being close to him. And it might be nice to wake up with him in the morning for a change, rather than finding an empty bed because he had gotten up long before you and the others.

 

That decided you more than anything. Stealthily creeping across the room, you abandoned your own bed in favor of a different one.

 


	3. Part Three

Soft dawn light filtered through the windows, illuminating the room just enough to rouse Ignis from slumber. Normally, he woke quickly, but this morning, his mind was slow to return to full consciousness. But even before he was completely awake, he became aware of something highly unusual.

 

There was a warmth beside him that hadn’t been there when he’d gone to bed.

 

His green eyes slowly opened, and he looked down. You were curled up against him, tucked almost beneath his chin. One arm was thrown loosely over his side, and he could feel that you had hooked one leg over his. He’d slept next to you in a tent long enough to know that you weren’t one to cuddle in your sleep (though you had occasionally been known to kick Prompto – who _was_ a sleep-snuggler – just hard enough to make him let go when his arms or legs found their way around you in the night), so this was something quite unexpected.

 

A part of him was slightly annoyed with himself; he was normally a very light sleeper – the slightest noise or shift in his surroundings would wake him up, but he had completely slept through this. He must have been more tired than he’d thought. But an even larger part of him was intrigued; this had to mean something had happened after he’d gone to sleep the night before. Something had changed, so that you no longer cared who knew about the two of you, and even felt comfortable enough to do this.

 

A quick glance over his shoulder told him that Prompto was still asleep, so you had time to retreat to your own bed, if you still wished to remain undiscovered. Carefully raising one arm, he gently stroked a knuckle down your cheek. You didn’t even stir as he touched you. Then again, he rather liked having you here, even though he had never been one for blatant displays of affection in front of others.

 

However, this also meant that _he_ couldn’t get up, either. No matter how carefully he moved, he didn’t think he would be able to extract himself from your hold without waking you. Ordinarily, this would have been a problem, since it would mean that he couldn’t get up and prepare breakfast for everyone. But when the five of you stayed in a hotel, he usually allowed himself to sleep a bit later than he did while camping, knowing meals would be made by the staff, or easily found in a nearby restaurant or food stall.

 

Folding one arm beneath his head, he lightly draped the other one over your smaller form, closing his eyes once more, though he didn’t plan on going back to sleep. Instead, he simply remained still, enjoying the feel of your warm frame against his. It was a complete change to how you had felt in that cavern; you’d been like a block of ice then (though he recalled that your inner walls had been borderline hot when he’d sheathed himself inside of you). But now, it was almost as if the two of you had never been trapped in that frozen chamber.

 

Almost. Except for the fact that you were now sharing his bed, and bore his fading mark on your throat.

 

But he was also curious as to what kind of reception awaited the two of you when the others awoke. He was prepared for anything, but were you?

 

He would soon find out.

 

* * *

 

 

Prompto turned over, raising his arms above his head and stretching lazily. There was nothing like waking up in a soft bed, beneath warm blankets. He didn’t mind camping, really, but he didn’t have the passion for it that Gladio did. Plus, camping usually meant being woken up at an ungodly hour by Ignis, who didn’t want the breakfast he’d made to get cold.

 

Sliding out from beneath his blankets, he was making his way to the bathroom when he suddenly froze, spotting a familiar curtain of hair spilling over the side of one of the beds. A bed that was already currently occupied. By Ignis.

 

“No _way_ ,” he murmured, taking a step closer for a better look. He had seen you and Ignis share a kiss the night before, so this didn’t come as a complete shock, but he hadn’t thought things had progressed to the point that the two of you would share a bed.

 

His first thought was that Ignis should be happy about this, since it would mean they would only need to pay for the price of four beds, rather than five.

 

His second thought had him lunging across the room for his camera. Even though he knew that all hell would probably break loose if the sound of the shutter woke either of you, he also knew that he would end up kicking himself later if he let this chance pass him by. He’d never been one to let a potential photo opportunity escape him, and this was no exception.

 

Camera now in hand, he positioned himself at a slight angle at the foot of Ignis’s bed, making sure that both your and the tactician’s faces were clear, though it was a bit difficult on your part, since you were nestled against him in such a way that you were partially hidden. It was why the blond himself hadn’t noticed you at first. Finally, he was satisfied with the way everything looked, and he held his breath as he snapped the picture, listening to the – to his ears – loud sound of the shutter as it clicked.

 

His entire body went absolutely still as he waited to see if the noise would wake either of you. A flicker of worry appeared in him as you stirred, but it was only to give a soft sigh and reposition your arm around Ignis.

 

He gave a sigh of his own as everything remained still and quiet, and he took a few steps back, calling up the image on the viewing window. Zooming in for a better look, he studied the picture. The morning light was perfect, filtering through the windows in visible golden sheets, the occasional dust particle shining as the newborn sunlight struck it.

 

You were curled up on your left side, the blanket pulled up to your elbows, leaving the rest of your body uncovered. Your face was serene, one arm folded against your chest while the other was presumably rested across your…lover? Prompto supposed that was the correct word to use.

 

Ignis himself had his head pillowed on his right arm, fingers slightly bent and just brushing the feathery ends of his sandy hair. His head was tilted down slightly, as if he had been looking at you just moments before, and he was…

 

Prompto went still, frowning. He held the screen closer to his face, to get a better look. There was a sliver of green there…

 

Ignis was awake, one eye partially opened and fixed on the camera.

 

Quickly, Prompto lowered the device, looking down at the prince’s advisor. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and even. To all appearances, he was still sleeping soundly, but Prompto knew what he had seen.

 

“You faker,” he commented quietly, turning away and putting his camera back on his bed before heading into the bathroom. As he turned away, he didn’t see the small smile that appeared on Ignis’s face.

 

When the door closed behind Prompto, Ignis opened his eyes, retrieving his glasses before propping his head up with his free hand. When he’d glanced over at the camera, he hadn’t realized that, in that exact moment, the gunman had snapped the photo, capturing proof that he wasn’t actually asleep.

 

Not that it mattered, really. Prompto had never cared whether his models were awake or not. The important thing to him was the layout of the photo, and as he hadn’t deleted the one he had just taken, Ignis assumed that he had been pleased enough with it. He would have to ask to see it later, just to get the full effect of what the blond had seen, and apparently decided that he had to immortalize.

 

Twenty minutes later, Prompto emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, bare from the waist up, and toweling his messy hair dry. He froze as he saw Ignis, who had glanced up at him when he came through the door. It looked like the taller man hadn’t gone back to sleep after all…

 

“Uhh…mornin’ Iggy,” the blond said somewhat awkwardly, lowering the towel and tossing it onto a nearby table. “Sleep well?”

 

“I slept fine,” Ignis replied quietly, arching one eyebrow. To his amusement, Prompto looked like he’d just been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, even though he’d done nothing wrong. If anything, he had expected it to be the other way around, since Prompto never missed a chance to tease someone, and here Ignis was, with you nestled against him, yet he hadn’t heard a single word about it.

 

Making his way over to his bed, the blue-eyed young man got dressed, combing his hair into some semblance of order. He did all of this without looking over at the last occupied bed, Ignis noticed. In fact, he seemed to be going out of his way to look anywhere but at the two of you.

 

At last, Ignis sighed. “Just ask, Prompto. I worry that you might injure yourself, trying to avoid the subject.”

 

Prompto’s spine stiffened, and he went absolutely still, but he didn’t turn around. At last, he spoke, his voice remarkably casual, given the tension he still carried in his body. “So…you and (Name) are a thing now, huh?”

 

“Not the way I would phrase it, but if you wish to call it that.” While it was true that the two of you had never made it official, the fact that you were currently in his bed made it rather clear where you stood on the matter, despite your hesitance the night before.

 

At last, Prompto turned around, flopping back down on his bed, catching himself on his elbows and lacing his fingers together over his stomach. Now that he knew that he wasn’t going to be reprimanded for prying, he was able to relax back into his normal easygoing personality. “It’s kind of funny; I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you with a girl before, and now all of a sudden, this happens.”

 

“It wasn’t planned,” Ignis admitted, looking down at you, the girl who’d been right under his nose for the past few years.

 

Truthfully, with his duties as Noctis’s advisor, he’d never had the time or inclination for a long-term lover before. When you’d first graduated from the training school and been introduced to the prince, Ignis hadn’t thought much of you. In his mind, you were too small, too fragile to make a good Crownsguard member, especially one who would be guarding Noctis himself.

 

It took him stopping by to watch a training session one day to realize that his first impression of you might have been incorrect. Gladio had decided to test you personally, and you had quickly fallen to the big man’s heavy blows. But each time, you stood back up, a new bruise added to your collection, and an even fiercer determination in your eyes. Time after time you had been disarmed and knocked to the ground, and time after time you had regained your feet, ready to face the shield once more. Ignis had watched as your legs trembled beneath you, threatening to send you to the ground again – and that had happened eventually – but even when you were on your knees, incapable of rising back to your feet, you never once surrendered, though you were outmatched, and lacking even the strength it would take to stand up.

 

Ignis finally had to call the session himself, seeing that you had no intention of stopping until you were physically unable to fight any longer. That was when he began to think that he might have been a bit too hasty in judging you. Seeing that display had tipped the scales in your favor, and after consulting with Gladio, the two of them had talked with the Marshal about adding you to Noctis’s retinue.

 

That had been the beginning of his interest in you, though at the time, it was simply an objective observation that perhaps you had more in you than he’d given you credit for. It was very rare that he was wrong, and when it happened, he liked to learn more about just what had gone wrong in his analysis to have caused that error.

 

As the weeks went by, and you began growing closer to the other Crownsguard members, Ignis found himself approving of you more and more, once he was able to see you in battle against other foes. What you lacked in physical strength, you made up for in speed, favoring close combat the way he did, rather than keeping at a distance. Soon enough, you were holding your own in sparring sessions with Gladio, though you had only managed to land what would have been a fatal hit on him a handful of times, and even Ignis himself had entered the ring with you, curious to see if the daggers you wielded as secondary weapons could keep up with his. While you hadn’t quite mastered them to the level that he had, preferring a slender one-handed sword instead, you had been able to keep him at bay to his satisfaction, though both of you had ended up with a few bruises that day.

 

It wasn’t until Gladio had begun inviting you on camping trips with everyone that the interest the tactician had in you began developing into attraction. To make matters worse, you’d decided that your bedroll was going to be placed between him and Prompto, meaning that he had to sleep with your warmth beside him all night. It hadn’t been as bad as he’d first feared; you were an amicable sleeping companion; there was no flailing around like he’d had to suffer through with Prompto – you slept neatly tucked within your bedroll, never once encroaching on his personal space, even though _you_ now had to deal with the gunman’s tossing and turning, often finding yourself buried beneath a tangle of slender arms and legs in the middle of the night. But you took it in stride, simply shoving Prompto back onto his own bedroll without complaint before going back to sleep yourself.

 

What was more, he was almost certain that he had been picking up on the hints of your own growing attraction to him. Something about the way you carried yourself when you were near him had subtly changed, just enough for him to be able to notice it. But whether you were too shy, or if you hadn’t wanted to risk upsetting the balance of friendship between the five of you, not once had you ever tried broaching the topic with him.

 

He had been on the brink of doing it himself, not wanting to risk losing a chance like this when it was right in front of him, just waiting to be plucked like a ripe fruit from a low-hanging branch.

 

And then, as if his thoughts had been tempting fate, the peaceful world you all shared was shattered in an instant. Insomnia fell, thrusting Noctis and the four of you out into the world on a dangerous journey he wasn’t even sure you would all survive. He’d had to turn his thoughts away from you in order to focus on protecting the prince, helping Noctis to gather the power that would ultimately allow him to take back the throne that was rightfully his.

 

Ignis had known for a long time that he could never have what he wanted…and what he wanted was you.

 

But that day in the cave, seeing you shivering yourself to pieces, he hadn’t been able to stand it any longer. This was his one and only chance to seize what he’d been wanting for months. Even if you could only be his in that one moment, he was going to take it. What he hadn’t expected was that it hadn’t ended there, like he assumed it would.

 

It hadn’t taken his analytical mind long to realize that perhaps, with a little luck, he _could_ have you, and still be the advisor that he needed to be for Noctis. So he’d thrown caution to the wind, and asked you to give him a second chance to prove to you that he was better than the man he had been in that cave.

 

And you had accepted. Hesitantly, to be sure, but you had given him that chance. And for the first time since the destruction of the Crown City, he felt like some things had the potential to still go right. It was going to be a difficult road, to be sure, but he was confident that he could do it, and he was very rarely wrong about these things.

 

That brought him back to the present, where you were currently nestled against his chest, your breath warm through the fabric of his shirt.

 

“Sometimes, things just happen, whether we plan for them or not,” he murmured, unsure if Prompto could even hear him from his position across the room.

 

“Never thought I’d hear _you_ say that,” the blond replied in some amusement. “You always have a plan for everything.”

 

Ignis chuckled. “Believe it or not, even I am taken unawares on occasion.” His attention was abruptly returned to you when he felt you stir, giving a soft moan.

 

“You two are noisy,” you grumbled, your eyes still closed. For a couple of minutes now, you had been awake, listening to the conversation going on between him and Prompto. With a yawn, you propped yourself up on one elbow, looking up at your bedmate. “Save the conversation for when everyone else is awake, huh?”

 

“Sorry, (Name), that was my bad,” Prompto called from somewhere behind Ignis, making you look over his shoulder to find the blond. While Ignis had kept his voice down, Prompto hadn’t thought that he might accidentally wake you up, and so hadn’t regulated his volume, not realizing until it was too late how loud that volume actually was.

 

You couldn’t bring yourself to be too upset about the entire situation, since your plan had worked – to a degree. Though you still needed to talk to Noctis about your potential relationship with his advisor, you currently had the man in question in bed with you. Judging by his alert expression, he’d been awake for some time, but he hadn’t gotten up. You only regretted that you hadn’t woken up before him, and gotten a chance to see his sleeping face again.

 

Ah, well. There was always next time.

 

Stretching, you slipped out from beneath the blankets just as the door separating your room from Gladio and Noctis’s opened, and the shield stepped inside, already fully dressed. In the background, you could see Noctis crawling out of his bed, yawning widely.

 

“Rise and shine, everybody,” Gladio said, making the three of you turn to look at him. The big man paused, taking in the scene in front of him. “The sun’s been up for an hour and a half and only Prompto is out of bed? What’s the matter, Iggy, you sick or something?” The grin on his face made it absolutely clear that he knew what had kept Ignis in his bed for longer than usual, even if you hadn’t been standing only mere feet away as proof. The tactician might have been his best friend, but that didn’t mean he was safe from the shield’s teasing.

 

“I’m quite well, thank you,” Ignis said primly, sliding out from beneath the blankets and climbing to his feet. For just a moment, you were able to take in a sight you weren’t sure you had ever seen before. His sandy hair, usually neatly combed, fringe teased into smooth vertical spikes, was now messy from sleep, a few errant strands falling onto his forehead.

 

What a lovely sight.

 

Within fifteen minutes, both of you had changed clothes and straightened your appearance, leaving everyone ready to face the day. For the first time since you had entered that cavern, you felt fully rested and recharged, and by the looks you could see on the others’ faces, they felt the same. This was confirmed a moment later as Gladio spoke.

 

“Who’s up for a morning workout?”

 

Each of you knew that Gladio’s ideas of workouts were usually hellish affairs that would leave those subjected to them tired and aching more often than not, so the four of you quickly found something to occupy yourselves in the hopes that you wouldn’t be the one singled out.

 

“My apologies, Gladio, but I have business to attend to,” Ignis said, brushing past the big man and out into the hall before anyone had a chance to reply.

 

You saw an opportunity to save both yourself and someone else, as well as have the conversation with Noctis that you hadn’t been able to last night. Peering around the shield’s massive form, which still stood in the doorway, you gestured to the prince. “Noct, will you come with me for a while? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

 

Stormy blue eyes blinked in surprise, but slowly, he nodded. “Uh, sure.”

 

Prompto’s freckled face paled as Gladio rounded on him with an almost savage grin. “Guess that leaves you and me. Let’s go.”

 

“You know what, Gladio? I actually have something-” The rest of his sentence was cut off as Gladio placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, pulling him towards the door.

 

“It can wait. Come on.”

 

The last thing you heard was Prompto’s whimper as the shield all but dragged him out of the room and down the hall. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the blond; you’d had your fair share of being cornered for workouts, so you knew what he was in for, and you were quite relieved that you had managed to escape before Gladio had gotten you in his sights.

 

As they left, you moved into Noctis’s room, waiting as he pulled on his boots. You slid your hands into the pockets of your jacket, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. When the prince straightened, he led the way over to the door.

 

“So, where do you wanna go?” he asked, glancing back at you.

 

“Anywhere is fine. Just…let’s take a walk around the city.” Ordinarily, you might have suggested a stop at the nearest food stall for breakfast, but you didn’t have much of an appetite.

 

Noticing your suddenly withdrawn behavior, he paused, his brow furrowing. “Okay, what’s got you so quiet? I know you’re not usually a morning person, but this is a little weird, even for you.”

 

This made you look up, and you gave his shoulder a gentle shove. “What do you mean, ‘even for me’? Are you trying to say that I’m weird?”

 

He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

 

Despite the cloud of uncertainty that was trying to descend on you, his words made you smile. Some of Prompto’s playful mannerisms were rubbing off on him, you noticed. But in a situation like this, you appreciated it, since it helped make things a bit easier.

 

As you made your way out of the hotel and along the street, you took a deep breath. “Have you ever wondered if…you could do something just for you, no matter how selfish it was, even though you’re a prince?” you asked at last, not wanting to simply blurt out what was on your mind. Beating around the bush was little better, but at least it gave you time to organize your thoughts. It was so much easier with Gladio; he’d already known, so there wasn’t anything to explain.

 

Noctis tilted his head back, looking up at the bright blue sky overhead while he thought about your question. “Sure I have. I’ve even gone through with it sometimes.”

 

You glanced over at him. “Yeah? Like when?”

 

“Like when I didn’t want to go to banquets or conferences, so I sent Ignis in my place.” He grinned almost sheepishly. “I usually caught hell for it afterwards, but it was worth it. I hated those things.”

 

You felt a tug at your heart strings at the wistfulness in his voice, and you had to wonder if he was regretting skipping out on them now that he could no longer do it. “Anything more…long-term?”

 

“Well…no. I knew my duties from childhood, and what was expected of me as I grew up. I knew better than to do anything that might affect the future I was supposed to have. Don’t get me wrong; I would have _liked_ to do something that reckless, but…” He shrugged. “When you’re born royal, there’s not much wiggle room for the freedom you’re allowed to have, especially with Gladio and Ignis always hovering around me, making sure that I behaved, for the most part.”

 

“I knew that I wanted to be part of the Crownsguard since I was little, and when I finally graduated, it was like a dream come true. I also knew that career path would come with sacrifices, and I was ready for that. Or…I thought I was.”

 

Noctis slowed his pace, watching you carefully. He knew that you were about to drop whatever bomb you had been holding on to, but he wasn’t quite sure what form it would take, and that made him wary. “Are you… You’re not thinking of leaving, are you? It sounds kind of like you’re trying to say goodbye.”

 

“No, nothing like that!” you hurried to reassure him. “I wouldn’t trade this life for the world, even though our circumstances aren’t exactly ideal. The time that I’ve been able to spend with you guys has given me some of my best memories. I don’t intend to give up being one of your Crownsguard until I’m forced to retire.” You flashed him a smile. “Or until you fire me.”

 

“Then…what are you not ready for?”

 

You were silent for a long time, gathering your courage. Why was this so hard to say? Noctis would understand, you were sure of it.

 

“Falling for someone.” Your voice was very quiet, almost inaudible, and Noctis had to strain to hear it, even though you were standing right beside him.

 

The black-haired prince didn’t reply for a moment. “You’re talking about Specs, right?”

 

This stopped you, and you looked up at him incredulously. He already knew? “Did… Have you been talking to Gladio?”

 

Noctis shook his head. “I noticed that you disappeared with Ignis last night, and I just…put the pieces together from there. I think I already kind of knew that you two had a thing for each other. We’ve been around one another almost every day for the past few months. You start to pick up on some things when you’re that close to someone for so long.”

 

You let out a long breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “All this time, I’ve been trying to figure out what I was going to say to you, and you already knew. Why didn’t you say anything before now? If you’ve known for weeks, then…”

 

“Because it wasn’t my place to say. You guys might be my bodyguards, but it’s not for me to meddle in your lives like that. I figured one of you would say something when you were ready. I just thought it would be before… Well, before everything happened.”

 

“This doesn’t change anything,” you told him quickly. “I’m still going to focus on my duties to you and the Crownsguard.”

 

“I know.”

 

Those two words held so much certainty that you felt your eyes sting. Quickly, you reached up, pressing the heels of your palms into them before the tears could form. You _never_ cried, and you weren’t about to start now. But the fact that Noctis apparently had so much faith in you was unexpectedly painful…in the best way, if such a thing was possible. It meant that you truly had become one of his trusted friends, even though he had known you the least amount of time.

 

When you looked back at him, you noticed that he had become intensely interested in a weed that had sprang up in a corner of the street, and was gazing at it rather than you. You had your pride to uphold, after all, and he knew you wouldn’t want him to see you in tears.

 

Taking a deep breath, you smiled. “Thanks, Noct,” you whispered, not really meaning for him to hear you, but the slight tilt of his head as you spoke told you that he’d caught your words.

 

Straightening suddenly, you slipped into the deferential mode you had taken before you’d gotten to know him and the others. “Does this mean I have Your Highness’s blessing?”

 

Noctis made a face, but his eyes were dancing in amusement. “Don’t give me that “Highness” crap. I think we’re long past the point of formalities by now.” He reached out, placing a friendly hand on the back of your neck and giving you a gentle shake. “If there’s one thing we’ve all learned the hard way, it’s that there’s nothing certain about our lives. Don’t waste the chances you’re given, or you’ll end up regretting it.”

 

Slowly, you nodded, hearing the message behind his words. He approved. What was more, it was a surprisingly mature message, allowing you to see past the image of the young man he was, and get a glimpse of the king he would one day become.

 

Feeling much better now, you looked around. “Think we should go rescue Prompto? He might not have the stamina to survive Gladio’s workout sessions so soon after the Royal Tomb.”

 

Noctis thought about this for a minute. “Yeah, all right. It’s about time for breakfast, anyway, and we don’t want him keeling over at the table.”

 

Speaking of breakfast, though, where had Ignis gone? You had a feeling you could make a fairly accurate guess; it probably had something to do with the place he planned on taking you the following day. The trouble was, you still didn’t know where that was. ‘The hills behind Lestallum’ didn’t tell you anything; that could cover miles of territory. You could spend days trying to pinpoint the exact location.

 

The two of you wound your way through the streets, coming at last to the main highway just outside the city. As you reached it, you realized that the Regalia wasn’t in the parking lot, which only confirmed your suspicions. Wherever he’d gone, it wasn’t close.

 

But you had little time to contemplate this, as movement in the distance caught your attention. You could see Gladio jogging towards you at what was – for him, at least – a leisurely pace. But then again, the rest of you had to take at least two strides for each one of his, which meant…

 

Sure enough, some distance behind him, you could see Prompto struggling to keep up. Sweat poured down his face, and his golden bangs were plastered to his forehead. Having been in his position more than once, you couldn’t help but wince sympathetically.

 

“I think Gladio’s trying to kill him,” you commented to Noctis, who nodded.

 

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

 

As Gladio approached, he gave the two of you a wave, only to breeze right past you; it looked like he wasn’t finished with his workout yet. Prompto, on the other hand, stopped when he reached you, bending over to brace his hands on his knees, his shoulders heaving with each ragged breath he took. The young man was by no means out of shape, but constant running in this heat would have been enough to drop anyone…except Gladio, apparently.

 

“Pick it up, Prompto!” the shield called back over his shoulder when he noticed that the blond wasn’t behind him anymore.

 

Prompto shook his head, not even bothering to straighten. “Uh-uh, I’m done! Go on without me, I’m just gonna lay here and slowly die.”

 

“Wuss!”

 

The gunman made a rude gesture in Gladio’s direction that had both you and Noctis laughing, and when he finally straightened, there was a grin on his face, as well. “I think that’s enough of a workout for one day,” he said, his breathing finally evening out. Reaching up, he ran his gloved fingers through his hair, causing it to stick up at wild angles. Of course, this was little different than how he normally wore it, thanks to the (admittedly adorable) cowlick on the crown of his head that kept a lock of hair constantly sweeping to the right, no matter how much he tried to flatten it out.

 

“You know, you could have just ditched him on a side street. This place has so many twists and turns that you probably could have lost him,” Noctis commented, watching his best friend wipe the sweat from his face with one arm.

 

“I tried,” Prompto admitted. “He caught me.”

 

“Be sneakier next time.” The unexpected voice made the blond jump in surprise; Gladio had managed to come up behind him without a sound; for such a large man, he could be remarkably quiet when he chose to be.

 

“Hard to be sneaky when you’re watching me like a hawk all the time,” Prompto retorted with a pointedly raised eyebrow.

 

“I watch you because I know you’ll try to make a run for it if you get the chance. Just like you tried to do earlier.”

 

“If you didn’t try to _kill_ me with these workouts, I would have to try and run!”

 

“Okay, guys,” you interrupted, cutting off whatever comeback Gladio was queueing up for. “What do you say we call it here and go get something to eat? Ignis will yell at us if he comes back and finds out we haven’t had breakfast. You know how much of a stickler he is for precise mealtimes.”

 

“Kind of ironic that he’s going to be the one to miss it, then,” Noctis commented offhandedly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning back towards the city.

 

“The Regalia is gone, so he’ll probably be MIA for a while,” Prompto interjected, folding his arms behind his head as he followed his best friend back into the city streets. “I bet he picked something up before he left.” A pause, then. “Any idea where he even went?”

 

Three sets of eyes turned in your direction, and you blinked. “Hey, don’t look at me. I don’t know any more than you do.” While not necessarily true – you had a hint, at least – it wasn’t an answer that would satisfy them. You were almost as much in the dark as they were. Ignis was being quite secretive about this, so you doubted he would say anything before he actually took you there, so the only source of information the three of them had was you.

 

When the stares didn’t stop, you sighed. “Okay, okay… He mentioned something about a building in the hills behind the city, but that’s it, really. That’s all I know about it.”

 

Noctis and Prompto returned your gaze blankly, telling you that they didn’t understand it any more than you did, but Gladio had a thoughtful look on his face.

 

“Huh… Not bad, Iggy,” he murmured, a slow smile curving up the edges of his lips. The two younger members of the group turned to look at him, and he held up his hands. “Uh-uh, don’t give me that look. If he wants to keep this a secret, I’m not gonna be the one to ruin it. You two can wait.”

 

Prompto crossed his arms with a huff. “Man, Gladio… Why d’you gotta do that? We should have a rule: no keeping secrets from each other!”

 

“Yeah, _that’s_ gonna happen,” Noctis commented a bit sardonically, but you could hear the amusement in his voice that softened what would have been a stinging tone.

 

You had to agree with Noctis on that one; as far as you were aware, Gladio was the only one besides you and Ignis who knew _exactly_ what had happened in that cavern, and you wanted to keep it that way. There were some things that just didn’t need to be shared, and you were absolutely certain this was one of them. Having them know about your relationship with Ignis was one thing, but knowing the details of your intimate moments? That was too much.

 

As you walked towards the restaurant you had eaten at the night before, you dropped back to walk next to Gladio. “I don’t want you to tell me what exactly is out there, but I _would_ like to know how you know about it,” you told him.

 

The king’s shield was silent for a long time, and you were beginning to think that he wasn’t going to answer you when he finally spoke. “Because of our duties to Noct, Iggy and I used to spend most of our time in the Citadel,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “When I was off-duty, I liked to go to the library they had there. There was an entire section full of books about old Lucian architecture, and I looked through them once or twice. I guess I wasn’t the only one.”

 

While it didn’t surprise you to hear this now, you couldn’t help but remember how shocked you had been the first time you saw the big man pull out a book. Up until that point, he had never struck you as the literary type. You’d thought for sure that would have been Ignis’s department. But Gladio seemed to have a thirst for reading that none of the others possessed, even the tactician himself. That wasn’t to say that Ignis didn’t enjoy the occasional book, but he didn’t have the passion for it that Gladio did.

 

“You know, it feels a little…weird, knowing that you’ve been in on all of this from the beginning,” you said after a moment. It had become something of a catoblepas in the room, and you wanted to address it before things became too awkward.

 

Again.

 

Gladio shrugged his broad shoulders, causing the tattoo that wound around his torso to ripple. “Iggy and I have known each other for most of our lives. I’ve got him figured out, down to the last detail, so when something is a little different, I notice it. And _you_ have been making him act different for a while now.”

 

This stopped you. “How long…is a ‘while’?” you asked quietly, remembering Noctis’s words: _We’ve been around one another almost every day for the past few months. You start to pick up on some things when you’re that close to someone for so long._

 

Gladio hummed, the sound reverberating from deep inside his chest. “I’d say…since about the first time you went camping with us. I think that’s when he really started to notice you.”

 

You thought back to the day in question. It wasn’t difficult to do; it was a day you remembered fondly, mostly because that was the first time you had managed to get the upper hand in a training session against Gladio, which had never happened before. You had gotten to the point where you could hold your own, but ultimately, he always beat you. Until that day.

 

“So then…all this time, has everyone known about it?”

 

Gladio grinned. “I don’t think Prompto knew until last night.”

 

You couldn’t stop yourself from rolling your eyes. “Well, _that_ makes me feel a lot better…”

 

In a way, though, it kind of did help, knowing that everything – _almost_ everything – was out in the open now, and you didn’t have to worry about how the others might react. Given the circumstances you were all under, it had felt so forbidden you had halfway convinced yourself that it couldn’t happen. The funny thing was, you knew that you were the only one who had really been stressing about that. Still, you were glad that it was over now.

 

With a small smile on your face, you let Noctis lead the way to the restaurant, where your breakfast waited.

 

* * *

 

Ignis hadn’t been lying when he’d told Gladio that he had business to attend to. It hadn’t simply been a ploy to keep himself from being the latest victim of the shield’s overly-ambitious morning workouts.

 

Mostly.

 

As he pulled the Regalia off the highway and into a parking area, he opened the dash and pulled out a map, unfolding it. Looking over the topography, he lined it up with the mental map he had once seen a book he’d found in the Citadel’s library. Having a photographic memory was quite useful in a situation like this, since it had been months since he’d laid eyes on the book in question, and he knew that he never would have been able to remember the location he was looking for otherwise.

 

It was a bit of a hike to his destination; while he walked, he kept one eye on the sun, counting off the minutes it took him to find what he was looking for. His timing would have to be precise… Thankfully, that had never been a problem for him. Working in the Citadel for years had allowed him to master the art, and he was confident that he would be able to make things run smoothly.

 

At last, the structure he had been looking for came into view. The surrounding area had been cleared of all trees, leaving the land bare. In the center sat a large, circular two-story building, made of smooth, cream-colored stone. Scattered along the surface was familiar runes that, even in the sunlight, glowed a soft, welcoming blue. Daemon wards. The roof was domed, split down the middle with a deep crack that would allow the two halves to open onto the sky above.

 

He made his way around the wall until he found the metal door. It took a minute for him to open it, as the hinges were all but rusted shut, but finally, the slab of metal swung open, allowing him to go inside. Flicking on the miniature flashlight clipped to the front of his jacket, he took a look around.

 

To his left, a staircase led up to a wide balcony that wrapped around the circumference of the building. A metal railing ran along the outside, and he couldn’t help but notice that, despite the state of the hinges on the door itself, the metal that made up the rails was fully intact, if a little dusty. This place had been here for years, but the interior had been protected from the elements.

 

The center of the floor was bare, cleared of any equipment the place might once have had. He didn’t mind this, though; he could do without it. Tucked into the shadows of the balcony, he could see an old control panel, filled with switched and levers of various sizes. This was where he now went, studying them. After a few moments of contemplation, he flipped one, stepping back and waiting.

 

For several long moments, nothing happened. But finally, with a loud grinding sound, the dome over his head split open, and sunlight poured down into the dark interior, cutting through the darkness. A massive sheet of glass covered the top of the building, curved to fit the shape of the dome, so that it resembled a giant lens. At first glance, it looked to be cracked into millions of shards, somehow inexplicably retaining its shape, but he knew better. This particular piece of glass had a very specific purpose.

 

He couldn’t help but smile; he’d promised you a memorable experience, and that was exactly what you were going to get.

 

* * *

 

Morning turned lazily into afternoon, and there was still no sign of Ignis. Your curiosity was rising by the hour; where could he have gone that was keeping him away for so long? At least you didn’t have to worry about him; he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

 

Left with nothing to do, you were stretched out on Gladio’s bed, watching him play a round of King’s Knight with Noctis and Prompto, who were sprawled on the prince’s bed nearby. You’d never been much of a player yourself, no matter how adamantly the two younger members of the group tried to convince you to join them, but you knew enough about the game to be able to follow along as each of them tried to claim victory over the other.

 

After Prompto narrowly won his first match, only to be soundly defeated by Gladio ten minutes later, you finally stood up, heading for the door.

 

“I think I’m going to go for a walk,” you told your companions, when you noticed them looking up at you curiously as you crossed the room. “Anyone need anything from the market?”

 

Three heads shook a negative, but Gladio’s amber eyes lingered on you for a moment. “Be careful,” he warned. Even in the safety of a city like Lestallum, it was still better to travel with at least one other person. So far, no one had realized that the prince of Lucis was very much alive and well, but you all knew that it was only a matter of time before either he – or one of you – was recognized, and that could lead to trouble, especially if you were caught out alone.

 

Hearing Gladio’s tone of voice, Prompto sat up, lowering his phone. “Want one of us to come with you?”

 

You were about to turn him down when you reconsidered. Gladio had followed you the night before when you’d thought you had managed to slip out unnoticed. It had been unnecessary, but you knew he had done it not just to talk to you, but also to keep you safe.

 

At last, you smiled. “Sure. The company will be nice.”

 

The blond gave you his trademark brilliant smile, snatching up his camera and stuffing his phone in his pocket, which made Noctis give a growl of exasperation.

 

“You could at least finish your match with me before you disconnect!” he complained, tossing his own phone aside and flopping back on the bed with his arms spread wide.

 

“Sorry, Noct, but we both know you were going to lose that one, anyway. I just saved you the embarrassment of a crushing defeat,” the gunman said.

 

“Tch, in your dreams. I had you down to your last few points. You just didn’t want me to get the rewards for winning.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Prompto replied airily, walking past you and out into the hall, Noctis’s slate-blue eyes boring holes in his back as he went.

 

“Hey, you still have to beat _me_ ,” you heard Gladio say as you followed Prompto out into the corridor, just before the door closed behind you, cutting off whatever reply the prince might have had.

 

The two of you left the hotel, and began to wind your way through the streets, listening to the idle chatter of the people around you. After weeks on the road, making pit stops at places too small to really be called towns, it felt almost nostalgic to be back in a city with a larger population. Having been born and raised in Insomnia, the city was what you were familiar with, and even though Lestallum was only a fraction of the size, it still felt more like home to you than anywhere else you had found.

 

“So,” Prompto said after a few minutes, making you look over at him. He was holding his camera, flicking through the pictures he had taken. “Remember that collection I said I was working on?”

 

You smiled. “The one you couldn’t show me yet? Yeah, I remember.”

 

“Well…” His voice trailed off, and you saw that his face was tinged with a hint of pink. Before you had a chance to ask what was wrong, he had thrust the camera into your hands and turned his back to you.

 

For a moment, you simply gazed at him, unsure of what to say. He was acting a bit like how you were when you talked to Noctis about what was going on with you and Ignis. … _suspiciously_ similar, actually.

 

You glanced down at the viewing window, and froze. On the screen was an image of you and Ignis, the both of you illuminated by the soft golden glow of streetlights. It had been taken the night before, when he had escorted you back to the hotel. He had grasped your hand…just looking at the picture brought back the sensation of his gloved hand wrapped around yours; the slender digits had a surprising amount of strength in them, you remembered.

 

“Prompto, you…” Trailing off, you pressed the button that would take you to the next image, which had been taken only moments later. You had turned to look at the tactician, your eyebrows raised in surprise, your lips slightly parted.

 

The blond flinched, but didn’t turn back around. “I know I shouldn’t have! But I couldn’t resist. The lighting was just so perfect, and I knew I would never get anything like it again, you know? And I thought, once you guys were ready to tell everyone, you would want to have some photos of the two of you together.”

 

“Well…I guess this means I don’t have to explain anything to you,” you murmured as you moved to the next image. Ignis’s hands had relocated to your upper arms, and he was leaning forward, his eyes halfway closed. Next: his lips had found yours; the kiss was sweet and gentle – you didn’t even need to be there to know that; you could tell just by looking at the photo. Finally, the moment he had turned away from you, intending to head to the market to do some shopping, so the others wouldn’t get suspicious of the two of you disappearing without warning and then returning together.

 

It looked like it hadn’t worked.

 

Prompto turned his head slightly, glancing back at you over his shoulder. He studied you closely as you went to the next image, the one of the four of you that he had taken in Gladio and Noctis’s room just before you’d all gone to bed.

 

A soft smile came to your face as you saw it again. It was an almost-perfect image. How he managed to continually take photos like these was beyond you.

 

The gunman relaxed a bit as he saw your expression, turning halfway around to face you. “There’s…one more.”

 

You glanced up at him, but you had a feeling you already knew what this one would be of. Sure enough, when you pressed the button, an image of you nestled up against a sleeping Ignis appeared on the screen. Except… Narrowing your eyes, you brought the camera closer to your face.

 

“Ignis was awake?” you asked. It was faint, but you were sure that he had one eye partially opened.

 

“Noticed that too, huh? Yeah. I think he was awake before I even took the picture.”

 

Still, it was the image you had wanted earlier; one of the almost nonexistent times when Ignis wasn’t his usual immaculate self, when he wasn’t quite as composed as he almost always was. Without a word, you handed the camera back to Prompto, who took it hesitantly.

 

“So…do I keep them, then?”

 

You folded your hands behind your back, taking a few steps away from him. “Only if I get copies,” you told him.

 

He nodded slowly. “Uh, sure.” Strapping the device back to his waist, he caught up to you. “I thought you would be upset about them,” he admitted. “Technically I _was_ spying on you guys. It wouldn’t be the first time I got a photo of something I wasn’t supposed to.” He grinned, then, his features softening at a remembered moment from the past.

 

As curious as you were, you didn’t pry. “Maybe I should be, but…I’m not. I like them. And what would be the point of you documenting our trip if you have restrictions placed on what photos you can take? Just don’t go around showing them off to everyone you see, and we’ll be good.”

 

He smiled. “Deal.”

 

The two of you made your way deeper into the city, and soon, you were turning onto the large square that held the marketplace. It was as busy as ever, humming with the conversations of the people shopping.

 

But one thing in particular had caught your eye. Or rather, one _person_.

 

Ignis was standing in front of a stall halfway down the square, handing the vendor a few coins in return for…something; you couldn’t quite get a look at what it was before he had tucked it into the pocket of his pants.

 

“Ignis!” you called out, giving him a wave when he looked up at you in some surprise.

 

At your side, before you even had a chance to notice he was leaving, your companion melted into the crowd and disappeared, as if he had never been there in the first place.

 

Blinking in surprise, you turned halfway around. “Prompto?” He’d been right there just a moment ago… And here he’d been complaining about not being able to shake off Gladio earlier that morning. Clearly he just hadn’t tried vanishing on the correct street, since he hadn’t had any issues with it just then.

 

The green-eyed man made his way over to you, looking around. His greater height allowed him to scan your surroundings better than you could, but even he saw no trace of the blond young man. “I believe he’s efficiently lost us…or himself,” Ignis commented, turning his attention back to you.

 

“I hope things won’t turn weird between us all,” you admitted, not meeting his gaze. “It wasn’t my intention. I’m ready for the teasing – I even enjoy it – but just having them vanishing whenever we get close to each other? I don’t like that.”

 

Ignis gave a soft sigh. “The dynamic of our group has shifted. It’s going to take us all a while to become accustomed to it again. But things will return to the way they were soon enough.”

 

You looked up at him at last. “Promise?”

 

He nodded, just once. Coming from anyone else, the sentiment would have been empty; something you said without meaning it just to make the other person feel better. But from him, you didn’t hesitate in believing it.

 

“So, did you finish what you were doing?” you asked after a few moments, wanting to change the subject. You moved to the side of the street so as not to block the way for the shoppers, folding your arms across your chest as you leaned back against the wall.

 

“Indeed.” He gestured to you, turning onto the street that would return you to the hotel.

 

Straightening, you made your way to his side, not even really thinking about it. “You were gone for a while; we were starting to wonder where you were. Leaving without telling anyone where you’re going…not the best idea you’ve ever had. You know that’ll make us worry.”

 

Those emerald eyes cut to you, and one eyebrow arched. “ _You_ knew where I intended to go,” he pointed out.

 

“Not really. All I knew was that you were going somewhere outside of the city. But that could cover _miles_. I finally told them that you mentioned some kind of building, but I couldn’t be more specific than that.” You paused, then. “I think Gladio knows where it is, though. He seemed to recognize something in what I said.”

 

“Ah… It seems he and I share the same taste in books on occasion, then.”

 

You smiled. “He told me about how he found it; back when you were…working in the Citadel. He said he liked to go to the library when he wasn’t on duty.” Another pause as you considered your words. “I didn’t know you very well back then. What did… _you_ like to do?”

 

You were treading on thin ice here; you just didn’t know how thin it might be. The emotional wounds each of you carried from Insomnia’s destruction were just barely beginning to mend, and you didn’t want to pry too deeply into something that might still hurt him. Truthfully, just talking about the past made your own heart clench in your chest.

 

It seemed that he didn’t mind the question, though, as he answered without hesitation. “I was never much one for leisure time. Being Noctis’s advisor is a full-time job, and I embraced it. As long as I was inside the Citadel, I considered myself on duty, and I was almost _always_ inside.”

 

“Almost?” you questioned.

 

A faint smile came to his face. “Noctis began going on camping excursions with Gladio, and of course, I had to go, to ensure that the two of them didn’t get into any mischief. Especially so when Prompto began going, as well. The three of them together unsupervised is a recipe for disaster.”

 

“Even Gladio? He’s never been the irresponsible type.” In fact, he took his duties to the crown almost as seriously as Ignis did, and that was saying a lot.

 

“Ordinarily, no, but Noctis has a talent for riling him up, and when that happens, he can sometimes…get a little carried away.”

 

You had to admit the truth of that. Though you had never actually seen the big man lose his temper with anyone in your group, he could occasionally get into it with the prince, even if they were little more than playful scuffles. Still, Gladio was strong enough that even a scuffle could leave his opponent scraped and bruised.

 

“I had no idea that those camping trips were the only times you ever let yourself relax.”

 

He raised a gloved finger in correction. “Make no mistake, darling, I _never_ relax around those three. They have a knack for getting themselves into trouble, and I’m usually the one who has to get them back out again.”

 

A tingle raced up your spine. He had called you ‘darling’ again, and it was said so naturally that you didn’t know if he even realized he had done it. “Right…” you murmured, trying to mentally shake yourself back into some semblance of order. How was it that one word, said in that sinful, smooth voice, could leave you feeling like you’d just been struck by a bolt of lightning? You’d always known that his voice had a power over you, and if he ever chose to unleash it fully, you would be lost. But it seemed that he didn’t realize it yet.

 

You weren’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

 

Ignis had always been very quick on the uptake, and this was no exception. It took him only a moment to notice your distraction, and after quickly reviewing what he’d just said, he hit upon the answer, and it made the shadow of a smile appear on his face. You’d admitted to liking it when he called you that, so it came as no surprise that he’d gotten some kind of a reaction out of you when he had done it again.

 

Though it was something he would never admit to, he had a bit of a devious side, and he couldn’t help but wonder how far he could push you if he really tried. If he could push you this far just with words alone, what else might he be able to do…?

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched you, thinking. Your own gaze was focused on the street ahead of you, so you didn’t see the way he was studying you. If you had, you would have recognized the telltale expression on his face that meant he was concocting a strategy. You had seen it many times in battle, and could identify it quite easily. The little reactions you had to certain things might have gone unnoticed by some, but Ignis was a very observant individual, and they didn’t slip past him. Each little tidbit of information he collected was carefully filed away for later, in case he needed it again.

 

And he _would_ be using it again, soon enough.

 

* * *

 

 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and by the next afternoon, dark clouds had gathered on the horizon. You watched them with a wary eye, not sure if Ignis’s plans would be interrupted by rain.

 

But this worry was eventually discarded as evening descended on Lestallum, bringing with it steady rain and a brilliant light show. Your anticipation had been growing all day, and it finally spiked as Ignis stood up from the table, where he had been writing something in his notebook; most likely a new recipe.

 

He closed the little book with a snap, placing it inside his jacket, which was draped over the back of his chair. Picking it up, he slid his arms through the sleeves. “Well, I believe it’s time we were on our way,” he said, looking pointedly at you.

 

Nodding, you stood up. “See you later, guys,” you told the other three, who were lounging in various places around the room.

 

“Ah, best not expect us until tomorrow morning,” he said casually. “It’s not safe to drive in the dark, and I would rather not take the chance of being ambushed when our strength is down by three.”

 

“Have fun,” Gladio replied, watching the two of you over the top of his book. His voice was laced with meaning, making you look away in slight embarrassment. Across the room, you saw Prompto’s face light up in a blush, having read between the lines of the shield’s comment.

 

The faintest shadow of a smile came to Ignis’s face, but it was gone too quickly for anyone to spot it. He intended to do just that, though he would never say it aloud. But based on the responding smirk that curved up Gladio’s lips, he knew what the tactician was thinking.

 

Opening the door, Ignis swept his arm towards the hallway, inviting you to go first. Ever the gentleman, he was… Shaking your head in amusement, you moved past him into the corridor, hearing the door close as he followed you.

 

Though you didn’t have an umbrella, the rain had never bothered either of you, and the parking area was just a short walk away from the hotel. By the time you climbed into the Regalia, you were slightly damp, but not drenched.

 

You eyed the darkening sky warily as he pulled onto the highway, trying to make an accurate guess about how much time remained before the sun set. Even though you knew you would be indoors once you reached…wherever he was taking you, the nervousness that came with the setting of the sun was hardwired into your body. Before being assigned to Noctis’s personal retinue, you had been outside the wall that protected Insomnia, and you had seen daemons up close and in person. It wasn’t an experience you wanted to repeat any time soon.

 

That nervousness only increased as he continued to drive, and the darkness became ever deeper. But finally, when you least expected it, you reached a parking spot leading off the main highway.

 

You looked around as Ignis pulled the Regalia over. Though you had expected to see a path of some kind leading to your destination, there was nothing. Glancing over at him, you arched one eyebrow curiously as he reached into the backseat and pulled out an umbrella.

 

“It’s a bit of a walk,” he explained, seeing your expression. “But we’ll reach it before the daemons begin to show themselves.” He’d made absolutely certain about that; it was why it had taken him so long to return the previous day; he had made the walk several times, making sure that the time it took to reach the structure was accurate.

 

Though the idea of being in the middle of nowhere at dusk made you a bit nervous, you trusted that he knew what he was doing. The two of you climbed out of the car, and you quickly hurried beneath the umbrella, walking as close to him as you could manage so neither of you would get wet.

 

Fifteen minutes later, he came to a stop, reaching into a pocket and drawing out a length of black fabric. “We’re almost there, but I would like to do something.” He raised the ribbon, and you realized that he intended to blindfold you with it. “Do you trust me?”

 

Your eyes went from the cloth to his face, and you nodded once. “Yes,” you murmured.

 

The last thing you saw was his smile as he stepped closer, tying the blindfold in place. It was silk, you noticed, slick and cool against your skin. But almost immediately, you felt thrown off-balance. You would have to completely rely on him to take you to your destination.

 

You felt him press the umbrella into one of your hands, raising your arm so he could still stand beneath the shelter. “Hold this.” His own arm slid around your waist, and you were pulled snugly against his side. You reached out with your free hand, intending to place it around him in return, but you felt him catch it, his fingers lacing together with yours.

 

“I won’t let you fall, darling,” he murmured in your ear, and slowly, he began to lead you forward. It was awkward at first; you kept expecting to trip over something, but Ignis had chosen his path well; the ground was relatively smooth, and he led you around any obstacles that might cause you to fall. It as a disconcerting sensation; you weren’t sure that you liked being this vulnerable. But at the same time, you meant what you’d said; you would allow yourself to be at his mercy, knowing that you would be safe in his hands.

 

You could feel the material of his jacket brushing against you, and hear his soft breathing, almost hidden beneath the sound of the rain. It was surprisingly…intimate, you had to admit. Every now and then, you could feel his thumb running along the back of your hand, as if he was encouraging you onward.

 

After what felt like hours, he came to a stop, and you felt him release you. “Stand right there,” he instructed. “Keep the blindfold on.” You heard his footsteps getting farther away, and a loud squeal, presumably from a door; you must have arrived. A moment later, he was back at your side again, taking the umbrella from you and leading you in out of the rain.

 

You heard the sound of your boots clicking against a stone floor, and you noticed the sound of the rain had all but disappeared; the walls must have been quite thick. Ignis pulled you forward, then paused.

 

“A set of stairs; ten steps to the bottom.”

 

Slowly, you slid your foot to the edge of the top step, feeling for the next one, and then the next, all the way down. When you ran out of stairs, you once again felt him move away from you, and you heard the sound of a match striking as he lit what was probably one of the camping lanterns.

 

But he didn’t return to you immediately this time. Instead, you heard his footsteps grow more distant, and suddenly, there was a loud grinding sound. Startled, you instinctively began to raise your hands, but you caught yourself, slowly forcing them back down again. He hadn’t said you could remove the blindfold, and until he did, you would leave it on.

 

It took several seconds, but at last, the alarming noise died away, and you heard the tactician coming closer. He stopped a couple of feet away from you, and you felt him tip your head upwards. You didn’t get a chance to say anything, as the next thing you knew, he had drawn you against him, his mouth descending on yours in a heated kiss.

 

For the first time that day, Ignis did something that he hadn’t planned for. When he’d flipped the switch to open the dome, he’d seen you reach up, intending to remove your blindfold. But then you had gone still, and your hands had fallen back to your sides once more.

 

This surprised him. Your warrior’s instinct would have told you to face whatever had made that sound, if only to find out what had made it. But you had managed to stop yourself halfway through, before you could even touch the ribbon tied around your eyes. This meant that his command to keep the blindfold on was strong enough to override your survival instincts. It meant you trusted that he wouldn’t let any harm befall you while you couldn’t see.

 

He swiftly closed the distance between the two of you, and once again, you were at his mercy, unable to even see what he was doing. You were almost completely helpless there in front of him, and that… _that_ set his blood on fire. Unable to help himself, he tilted your head back, leaning down to capture your mouth in a kiss. The hand not wrapped around you tangled in your hair, and he took a firm hold of the strands, keeping your head in place so you couldn’t move.

 

When he finally broke the kiss, he didn’t move away, trailing his lips down the column of your neck until he found the place where he had bitten you in the cave. The mark was fading now, and he licked it softly, making you shudder against him. Without the benefit of sight, your skin was a bit more sensitive than it usually was, and he already knew the effect that particular place on your neck had on you to begin with. It was only heightened now.

 

“Ignis…” you murmured, your hands coming up to rest on his chest, fingers sliding beneath his open jacket and curling into the front of his shirt.

 

“Just a moment.” His fingers found the knot he had tied in the blindfold, and as soon as the fabric loosened, he took hold of your head again, keeping it tilted back.

 

As the silk fell from your eyes, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and the interior of the room. You gasped at the sudden brightness, which was amplified by the glass lens that protected the two of you from the rain. The lens caught the light, bending and twisting it before it reached the other side, and caused it to shine and glitter like a diamond. It only lasted a moment before you were plunged into shadow again; the only illumination coming from the lantern he’d had the foresight to turn on upon your arrival.

 

At last, he released his hold on you, allowing you to look at him. Your eyes were wide, lips slightly parted in surprise.

 

“That was… _incredible_ ,” you breathed. You had never seen anything like that in your entire life. Now that you were able to get a look around you, it became clear that you were in an old observatory, but most of the equipment had been cleared out, leaving only a control panel lined up against one part of the wall. A single lantern sat off to the side, its flame turned up just high enough for the two of you to be able to see each other, and you noticed that your bedrolls had been placed beside it. It looked like you had found where you were going to be sleeping that night.

 

But what fascinated you most was the ceiling, and your gaze quickly returned to it.

 

“When they created the glass, they did it in such a way that the interior has millions of different facets carved into it, so it refracts the light,” he explained, pleased by your reaction. “This place was not only meant for stargazing. It has a secondary purpose, as you just saw. However, the right conditions must be met for its true potential to be unlocked.”

 

“You had to wait for a thunderstorm.”

 

“Indeed.” Ignis watched your face as another bolt of lightning split the sky, causing the lens above your heads to glitter again. It was like looking straight into the heart of a giant jewel, and for a moment, you were reminded of the Crystal of Lucis. You had only seen it a handful of times, and only from a distance, but you remembered the way the light had struck it, lighting up its dark blue depths as if a flame had been kindled inside of it.

 

Letting go of you, he crossed the room, retrieving the bed rolls and bringing them back to the center of the room, where he shook them out. Though you wanted to continue watching the lightning, his movement caught your attention, and you looked back at him in time to watch him removing his gloves. With both hands free, he could have simply pulled them off normally, but he decided to take a different approach, one he knew would get a reaction out of you.

 

Raising one hand to his mouth, he bit down on the tip of each finger, loosening the leather and allowing him to slip his hand free before repeating the process. When he was finished, he tucked the gloves inside his coat, and looked back up at you, the faintest hint of a knowing smile on his face.

 

He knew _exactly_ what he had just done, damn him.

 

Unable to help yourself, you launched yourself at him, and he caught you around the waist, his mouth already angling to meet yours in a fierce kiss. If you had been expecting tonight to be taken slowly, that notion had been thoroughly shattered by what you had just seen.

 

Ignis took control of the kiss, his now-bare hands sliding up your sides to take hold of your wrists in a firm grip. Slowly, he pulled your arms down, folding them behind your back and then pressing down so your hips were flush against his. “If at any point this becomes too much, just tell me, and it will end,” he murmured to you, his soft voice almost caressing you as he broke the kiss to whisper in your ear. “You see, I don’t intend to play nicely tonight, darling.”

 

His words made your eyes widen, and a bolt of fiery arousal shot directly to your core. You had already seen that he had a different side than his usual gentle personality, and it looked like he was going to embrace it tonight. That suited you just fine.

 

Slowly, you shook your head. “Tonight, I want _you_ , and everything that comes with it. I can handle it. I _want_ it.”

 

You saw that this had the desired effect; even in the dim light of the room, you saw the heat appear in his eyes in response. “As you wish. First, though…” He released your wrists and reached into his jacket, drawing out the silk ribbon. Smoothing it out, he carefully placed it over your eyes, tying it into place with exquisite care not to let your hair get caught in the knot.

 

When he was finished, he slowly began to circle you, his fingers lightly brushing your shoulders so you would know where he was. His footsteps gave away his location, but you were grateful for the contact nonetheless. When he reached your back, he lightly wrapped one hand around your throat, tilting your head to the side. Brushing your hair out of the way and leaning down, he gently licked the sensitive skin, then blew on the damp area, making you shiver.

 

You started to reach back towards him, but his free hand immediately came up to grasp one of your wrists. “Ah-ah, mustn’t touch, my love. Not yet. While the blindfold is on, your hands stay where I place them, and right now, that’s down by your sides.”

 

It was a struggle, but at last, your arms lowered back to their former place, though you couldn’t stop your fingers from tapping almost nervously against your thigh. It wouldn’t be so bad if you could just see him. You could live without touching him, and you could live without seeing him. But not both at the same time. Like this, you had no idea what he was about to do, and in this moment, you knew he was capable of _anything_.

 

But you weren’t scared. Nervous, to be sure, but not actually _frightened_. You knew that no matter what he did, you would ultimately end up enjoying it, and that made you willing to do whatever he asked of you.

 

When he was sure that you weren’t going to move again, he picked up exactly where he’d left off, giving a soft bite to the place his tongue had been only a few moments before. You stiffened against him with a soft gasp, knowing this would leave another mark. There was little doubt about what the two of you had come here to do, but now the others would have a much better idea of the details. Then again, perhaps that was his intention.

 

Before, he had marked you in the heat of the moment, but what he’d just done had been deliberate. He was marking you with the intention of letting everyone know exactly what had happened this night.

 

Ignis gently licked the reddening skin, the hand that wasn’t holding your head to the side wrapping around your waist, and slipping beneath the hem of your shirt. His long, elegant fingers lightly caressed your bare skin, feeling the heat that was radiating off you. When he’d accidentally left a mark on you in the cave, he hadn’t realized how much he liked seeing the proof of what he had done with you. It had come as quite a surprise the first time he saw it, and it had sent a burst of heat tingling through him.

 

Drawing back, he released your neck, both hands coming up to the top button of your shirt, which he slowly unfastened. One by one they came loose, revealing a thin strip of skin down the center of your body. He hooked his fingers beneath the top of it, drawing the garment down just enough to bare your shoulders and upper back, as well as the tops of your breasts. “Hold your shirt in place,” he instructed, and you raised your arms, bending them across your body so the material would stay in place. It would have been so simple to just let it go, and it would have fallen to the floor. By doing this, he was denying himself his first glimpse of your almost-bared body, but that was exactly what he intended to do.

 

From this angle, he could see the straps of the black lace bra you wore beneath your shirt, and he placed his hands on your upper arms, bending down and taking one of the straps in his teeth. He pulled it down until it hung loosely against your arms before repeating the process on the other side.

 

He was teasing himself just as much as he was you, and it was torturously delightful.

 

When that was done, he release you, walking around to your front. He took a step back, drinking in the sight of you. You were standing in a pose reminiscent of your battle stance, one foot slightly in front of the other, both legs planted firmly. Like he’d told you, your arms were folded just beneath your chest, keeping your shirt in place. Just above them he could see the beginnings of the swells of your breasts, your open shirt framing the inner curves and giving him a glimpse of the lace you wore beneath it. Your breathing was coming quicker, he noticed, and your lips were slightly parted in response. He could see the faint red mark on the side of your neck, partially hidden by your hair. Through your eyes were covered by the silk ribbon, your head was turned in his direction, and he could tell just by looking at you that you were listening intently for some kind of hint about what he might do next.

 

All in all, the sight was enough to make him ache with desire.

 

“Open your arms.” The command was soft, almost inaudible, but you heard him, and your arms loosened from around yourself. Your shirt slipped downward, barely clearing your fingertips before he caught it, folding it up and setting it aside. His jacket soon joined it (and he noticed that you tilted your head ever so slightly to the side, trying to figure out what had caused the sound) but that was the only allowance he made for himself. He was just getting started with you; his own pleasure would wait.

 

He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around you and bending you back, his lips going to the hollow of your throat, where he began to suck gently, running his teeth over the skin.

 

Your arms immediately came up as you felt yourself being bent backwards, but you managed to catch yourself just before you actually touched him. “Ignis, please…” you whispered, your voice coming out as little more than an exhalation.

 

He paused his ministrations just long enough to reply. “Yes, darling?”

 

“Can I touch you?” Though you knew he wouldn’t drop you, the instinct to anchor yourself to something was almost overpowering. So far, you had been perfectly obedient, but this was beginning to test you. It had just been sheer luck that you had caught yourself before you could come in contact with him.

 

A moment of hesitation. He knew why you were asking; like this, you were completely unbalanced, and probably felt like you were about to fall. It was out of necessity that the request was born, not simply desire.

 

“Yes,” he said finally. “But only my arms and shoulders. Keep any wandering hands in check.”

 

Immediately, you latched onto him, your fingers wrapping tightly around the backs of his arms to steady yourself. As you did, it clicked in your mind what that quiet rustle had been; he’d taken his jacket off. You could feel the softer material of his shirt beneath your hands.

 

His mouth returned to you, trailing down your chest and nipping at the tops of your breasts, leaving behind pink patches of skin. A soft moan drifted to his ears, and he went still. Well, _that_ was new. You’d been quiet for the most part when he’d taken you in the cave, so he hadn’t gotten much of an opportunity to hear your voice pitched in such a sweet way. Twice, perhaps three times, and each one had been dragged out of you almost forcefully. But the sound had a different quality to it this time, something that shot straight down to his arousal, where it strained against the front of his now overly-tight leather pants. They had always been snug, but now it was almost painful.

 

He didn’t care.

 

At that moment, his mind was on one thing: hearing you make that sound again. He trailed his hands up your smooth back, tracing the curve of your spine and eliciting another shudder from you. When he reached the back of your head, he untied the blindfold, letting it fall away. As much as he would have liked to keep you in both the metaphorical and literal dark, he wanted you to watch what he was about to do.

 

Leaning back, he pulled you along with him so you were standing completely upright again, and he slowly knelt down in front of you. As he did this, he heard your breath catch sharply in your throat, and something changed in your eyes, causing them to darken.

 

His fingers went to work on the laces of your boots, and he drew them off, putting them aside. When that was done, he ran the digits along the outside of your thighs, then across your waist, finding your belt buckle and unfastening it. He worked the button loose, then drew down the zipper, causing the garment to loosen around your hips.

 

Slipping his hands beneath the fabric, he pulled it down agonizingly slowly, revealing a pair of panties that matched your bra. By the time the pants were pooled at your ankles, you didn’t need to be told; you had already stepped out of them and kicked them aside before he could even say anything.

 

He had to smile at your eagerness; you had probably guessed by this point what he intended to do. Elegant fingers wrapped around one of your calves, and he raised your leg so your foot was rested on his thigh, giving him access to the place he needed.

 

But he wasn’t quite ready to give you what you wanted just yet. Instead, he leaned forward, taking the flimsy material between his teeth and tugging it down. It was thin enough that he could have simply ripped it away, and as tempting as that thought was, he refrained. Perhaps another time.

 

Instead, he let them slide down your legs, and steadied you as you removed them the rest of the way, leaving you completely unclothed except for your bra. He sat back for a few moments, his emerald eyes soaking in the sight of you. It was the first time he had ever seen you completely undressed, and he wanted to savor the moment.

 

Not for too long, though.

 

He reached up, curling his hands around the backs of your thighs and caressing the silky skin. Closing the distance, he placed a kiss on your inner thigh. Another kiss was placed a bit higher up, and he smiled as he saw how wet you already were. It seems that his ministrations had been more than enough to prepare you. He inhaled deeply, taking in your scent, sharper now with the spicy bite of your arousal. Suddenly he bit down on the tender flesh, causing your hips to jerk in response, and he had to hold onto you tightly to keep you from losing your balance.

 

“You smell _delectable_ , darling. Pardon me while I have a taste…”

 

With that, he leaned forward, his tongue coming into contact with your glistening folds and slipping between them, collecting your nectar and causing you to gasp before he withdrew. He sat back, rolling your flavor around in his mouth for a moment, considering it. He glanced up at you, noticing that you hadn’t taken your eyes off of him once since he had knelt before you.

 

“I’m going to make you climax exactly like this,” he told you. “And I want you to remain standing through it all. Hold on to me if you need to, but do not let yourself fall.”

 

That was going to be difficult. With his hands on you, it helped to keep you steady, but it looked like he wasn’t going to let you stand on both feet, nor was he going to take this elsewhere, so you would have something to lean against. You were more or less on your own. But at least he’d said you could touch him now.

 

You braced your hands on his shoulders as he leaned forward again, his sinfully talented tongue tracing a path up to the bundle of nerves before he took it into his mouth, flicking it and then beginning to apply suction.

 

Pleasure exploded within you, and you closed your eyes for a moment. This was _worlds_ above what you had experienced with him in that cave; he hadn’t been lying when he’d said that he would treat you differently. He was taking his time now, exploring everything your body had to offer, and savoring it.

 

A soft cry reached his ears as he traced around your entrance, dipping inside for a moment. One hand rose up your leg, and he ran his fingers along your slit, collecting the moisture there before slipping a single digit into your heated depths. He noticed that the grip you had on his shoulders tightened as he did this, and slowly, carefully, he added a second.

 

You were just as tight as you had been before, but Ignis was patient, his mouth continuing its work as he used his fingers to gently stretch you, preparing you for him.

 

Pleasure spread its way through your blood as he all but devoured you, lapping at the bud above your entrance before prodding it with his tongue, tracing random patterns over the sensitive nub. His technique was expert and precise, as with almost everything else he did, and you felt your legs beginning to tremble. You couldn’t stop yourself from moaning, your nails digging deep into his shoulders, and if it hadn’t been for the material of his shirt, you were sure that you would have left marks.

 

He took a tighter hold on your leg as he twisted his fingers inside of you, hooking the digits so they hit against that particular place at the front of your pelvis. His touch swirled around it, pressing down with enough force to make you cry out, throwing your head back as a burst of lightning lit up the room, casting a stark shadow down onto him as he knelt before you, taking everything you had to offer and more.

 

The pleasure spiraling through you began to withdraw, forming into a tight knot in your lower abdomen. Your muscles started to tense up, betraying how close you were. One hand curled behind his head, and you pulled him closer, widening your legs to give him better access. He took the invitation, suckling fiercely on the bundle of nerves, letting his teeth lightly scrape against it. You forced your eyes opened, looking down at him through vision clouded with intense pleasure. The sensations were sharply targeted to two places; one within you, and one without, and you couldn’t have said which one was the trigger that sent you over.

 

But before you could even begin to think about holding it off, your peak broke over you, white-hot pleasure searing through your blood and setting you on fire. Again you cried out, shuddering out your release against him while he drank you up, never stopping his actions. You could feel your body becoming more sensitive as he prolonged the sensations for as long as he could. Though the feelings were beginning to die down,  still he continued, pushing you almost to the point of pain, but the agony was so exquisite that you couldn’t bring yourself to stop him.

 

At last, you felt his fingers leave you, and he leaned back, grasping your waist and sweeping your legs out from beneath you. He caught you as you fell, laying you down gently on the bedroll he had prepared earlier.

 

Still shaking from the aftershocks of a powerful release, you watched as he reached behind you, and you arched your back to allow him to unhook your bra and put it aside. He lay down beside you, and you turned towards him, your fingers immediately going to the buttons of his shirt. A part of you wanted to simply rip the garment open; you had been waiting to see him undressed since the cave, and your climax had done nothing to satiate that particular desire. But you didn’t think he would appreciate that, and so you did it properly, slipping each button free of its corresponding hole and watching with your breath held as more and more of his smooth torso came into view.

 

Though he was slender, the muscles of his chest and abdomen were sharply defined, and you couldn’t resist running your fingers over them, tracing over each smooth curve.

 

He allowed you to do this, his eyes following the movements of your hands as they slid downward, then back up. When you pushed the garment from his shoulders, he shrugged out of it, but when he tried to fold it up, you caught his wrist, shaking your head. “Leave it. Just this once, let it fall.”

 

Ignis paused, studying you, but finally nodded, simply pushing his shirt out of the way. The allowances he was willing to make for you were dangerous, he thought with some amusement. But he didn’t care. This was something he was happy to give you, even if it went against his impulse to have everything be neat and tidy.

 

As he did this, your fingers were at work at his waist, unfastening his belt and unzipping his pants. He gave a soft sigh of relief as the pressure on his length finally disappeared, though he could still feel himself straining against the fabric of his boxers. Still, that was much preferable to the tightness of his pants.

 

You glanced up at him as you heard him sigh; you’d never heard him make that sound before. Was it possible to make him do it again…? Propping yourself up on one elbow, you leaned forward, your mouth going directly to his neck, where you began a series of gentle licks and bites. His hands came up to cover your breasts, and he rolled the nipples between his fingers, making your body tingle with small bursts of pleasure.

 

But you were more focused on what you were doing at the moment, so you didn’t pay much attention to where his hands were. Your own fingers were busy at work at his waist, slipping beneath the top of his boxers and finding his hard shaft within their confines. He shuddered against you as you caressed the velvety skin softly, and you placed a string of kisses around his throat, wondering just where you ought to leave a mark of your own. He wasn’t getting out of this without something in return, after all; you still owed him from the cave.

 

Finally, you decided on a spot. Before he could stop you, you had pushed him onto his back, throwing one leg around his waist and keeping yourself elevated above him. Your fingers continued to dance over the sensitive skin of his length as you bent down, biting down hard precisely between his collarbones. It wasn’t enough to draw blood, but it would leave a bruise for a few days.

 

He gave a soft hiss as you did this, his hands moving from your breasts to your waist, and he pulled you down so you were grinding against him. This caused you to shiver; your body was still overly sensitive after your release, and the smooth fabric of his boxers was like torture against you.

 

Before you had a chance to do much else, you found yourself on your back again, with him kneeling over you. “I thought we agreed that you would be obedient tonight,” he commented, his voice laced with an intoxicating mixture of amusement and desire.

 

“You said I only have to behave as long as I was wearing the blindfold. You never said anything about what I could do after it was removed,” you pointed out. “And technically, the only rule was that I couldn’t touch you.”

 

He blinked, and a smile came to his face. “Cheeky little thing, aren’t you?” He didn’t give you a chance to reply, leaning down and capturing your mouth in a kiss. His tongue forced your lips apart, slipping inside and exploring thoroughly. At last, he drew back, licking his own lips. “But I’m not finished with you yet.”

 

Quickly, he shed his remaining clothing, but you noticed that he didn’t take the time to fold them up; he had taken your request to heart. You had a few seconds to take him in, kneeling there before you, his emerald eyes fixed intently on yours. But then he reached out, flipping you over onto your stomach and wrapping an arm around you, pulling you up until you were on your hands and knees.

 

You felt him position himself behind you, and his length rubbed against your folds, spreading your essence over him in preparation. “Are you ready for me, my love?” he asked, running one hand down the center of your back and taking hold of your hip while the other curled around his shaft, positioning himself at your entrance.

 

“Yes,” you whispered, your voice drenched in desire.

 

Slowly, he began to rock his hips, allowing himself to enter you a few centimeters at a time before withdrawing, only to repeat the process again, sinking a little deeper each time.

 

Your fingers curled into the bedroll beneath you, and you closed your eyes at the faint discomfort of your walls stretching to accommodate him. But not once did you ask him to stop, and before long, the sensation was replaced by pleasure as he buried himself to the hilt inside of you, pausing for a moment to make sure you weren’t in any pain.

 

Slowly, you rocked back against him, and he took the hint, pulling back before sliding in again, his pace still excruciatingly slow. Whether he was doing it because he didn’t want to risk hurting you, or because he was trying to torture you, you didn’t know, but you were beginning to lose patience. Though you’d had one release already, _he_ hadn’t, and you knew that he must be feeling twice as frustrated as you were. This was the first pleasure he had allowed himself since you’d begun, and still he was denying himself the full extent of it be keeping his movements restrained.

 

“Ignis…move faster,” you pleaded, as much for his benefit as it was for yours.

 

He couldn’t help but smile at this. “Patience; all things come to those who wait.” He continued his leisurely stokes within you, relishing the feel of your walls gripping him tightly. It was as difficult for him to do this as it was for you to let him; every nerve ending in his body was screaming at him to throw caution to the wind and let himself lose control, lose himself in you, but he resisted.

 

_Not yet._

 

But that didn’t mean he was going to deny you. One of his hands snaked around you, going directly between your legs and beginning to rub the bundle of nerves above where the two of you were connected. The motions of his fingers were completely at odds with those of his hips; while he was rocking into you slowly, the speed of his hand was rapid, the digits dancing across the bud quickly enough that it left you gasping.

 

He was trying to work you towards a second climax, you realized, but not one that he would share with you. At the speed he was going, he would never reach his release. He was moving just fast enough that he could feel the pleasure from it, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough to send him over the edge.

 

“Why…?” you asked, echoing the first thing you’d said to him in the cave after he’d kissed you.

 

Suddenly, you felt yourself pulled upright, though he continued to slide in and out of you. He pressed you back against his chest, and his head came to rest on your shoulder. “Because, my darling, I promised you a memorable experience, and that’s exactly what I’m going to give you. I want to hear my name on your lips as you climax, and I want to be clearheaded when it happens. I want to be able to enjoy every moment as you become lost in the pleasure that I’m giving you. Then I’ll have my turn.”

 

His response startled you, but you couldn’t say you disliked it. Hearing him say that your pleasure was more important than his sent a tingle through you that had nothing to do with arousal, but was equally pleasant.

 

You melted against him as he continued to work over the sensitive bud, keeping his hips in motion the entire time. When his mouth came down to nip at your throat, you moaned his name, feeling him jerk slightly against you and knowing this had had an effect on him.

 

The embers of your spent climax were beginning to awaken again, and you felt your body warming in response. You placed one hand over his, following the movements of his fingers as he pushed you towards a second release, and your other hand came up to curl around behind his head, the feathery ends of his hair tickling against your skin.

 

Suddenly, he bit down on your neck, precisely where he had left a mark the last time, and you cried out as sharp pleasure sank its hooks deep into you, ripping open your nerve endings and leaving them raw. The pressure in your lower stomach was beginning to build, and it promised to be every bit as strong as it had been before.

 

Your breath was leaving your lungs in short pants as he continued his work, his fingers expertly manipulating the sensitive flesh, knowing exactly where to touch and what to do to draw out as much pleasure as he possibly could.

 

But it was what he said next that made the difference.

 

Nuzzling your neck, he placed a soft kiss on the skin, and whispered in your ear, “Come for me, darling.”

 

With those four simple words, you were lost. Your second climax gripped you tightly, causing your inner walls to ripple around him. As he instructed, you cried out his name, though you barely heard yourself say it, lost in the haze of pleasure as you were. The combination of your over-sensitized body and his words made for a potent trigger that made your release even stronger than it had been the first time, which you hadn’t thought possible. The pleasure unraveled within you, shredding your nerves and electrifying your blood. Your vision blurred, and for a moment, went dark.

 

Ignis clenched his teeth as he felt you clamp down on his length, and his own pleasure suddenly spiked in response. It took every ounce of his rather exceptional willpower not to plunge into you and chase his own release, but he resisted. Almost… _Almost._

 

When he was sure that you had ridden out the last waves of your climax, he carefully turned you over, though he didn’t withdraw. Instead, he ran his hands down your sides, his hips going still as he waited for you to recover.

 

“Are you tired, darling?” he asked gently, leaning forward to rest his forehead against yours.

 

Truthfully, you were exhausted. Being pushed into one powerful release after another had more or less drained you. But you knew that if you told him this, chances were good that he would end things where they were, rather than allowing himself a climax of his own.

 

“I’m fine,” you told him, reaching up and trailing your fingers lightly down his chest. “And I’m not letting you go until you finish.” To make good on this threat, you bent your knees, hooking your legs around the backs of his and locking him against you. “ _Move_ ,” you murmured.

 

His green eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint smile came to his face. “One thing, first…” Snatching up the black ribbon he had discarded earlier, he took hold of your wrists, crossing them over each other and swiftly tying the silk around them before pressing your arms back down onto the bedroll above your head. “ _That_ is for the sass,” he told you, gently stroking his fingers down the side of your face, letting you know that he was anything but angry with you. In fact, he’d quite liked it, since it showed that you were willing to edge close to the line of disobedience, even knowing that it might get you in trouble.

 

He wrapped one arm around your waist, tilting your hips upward so he was able to reach deeper inside of you than before, and at a different angle. Because your inner walls were still slick with your release, he was able to set up a fast pace almost immediately without having to worry about hurting you, and his hips met yours hard enough to cause you to rock backwards.

 

Leaning forward, Ignis captured the peak of one breast in his mouth, gently biting down on the tip. He hadn’t been able to do this yet, and he wanted to savor the moment; he’d always been captivated by your breasts, especially when you forewent wearing your jacket in favor of a black tank top that was your preferred casual wear when the weather was hot. It was cut just low enough in the front to allow him to see the tops of the soft swells, and more than once he’d caught himself wondering how well they would fit in his hands.

 

They fit very well, as it turned out; but then, he was coming to realize that everything about you was this way – it was as if you had been made especially for him. Your passage exerted just the right amount of pressure around his length as he pumped himself inside of you, and your breasts filled his hands perfectly, the soft flesh giving way as he squeezed it.

 

He trailed a line of kisses between the soft globes, leaving behind a bite now and then sharp enough to cause the flesh to turn pink. By morning, you would bear his mark in several places, and he found that he was quite looking forward to the expressions on the others’ faces when the two of you returned the next morning, you bearing a necklace of his bites, and him carrying one or two of your own.

 

You moaned beneath him as he quickened his pace even more within you, the arm that was wrapped around you holding you tightly to him. Suddenly you found yourself being lifted again, and the next thing you knew, you were sitting in his lap, exactly the way you had been in the cave. But this time, he continued thrusting into you, barely giving you a chance to make any moves of your own.

 

Your arms came down to rest on his shoulders, your wrists still bound behind his head. Leaning forward, you rested your head against his neck, closing your eyes. His breath was harsh in your ear, and you felt his teeth scrape along the skin of your shoulder, but he didn’t bite down this time. Instead, he punctuated his movements with a surprisingly soft kiss, given how caught up he was in what he was doing. You could see that he was beginning to come unraveled; it wouldn’t take long before he was lost in his own release.

 

What surprised you was that you could feel the pleasure he was giving you beginning to grow in the pit of your stomach. It wasn’t as strong as it had been before, but you knew that you were on your way to a third release, if he continued what he was doing. And he showed no signs of stopping, holding you tightly against him.

 

The hands that had been resting on your waist now rose up your back, and he tangled his fingers in your hair, pulling your head back and exposing your throat to him. He licked and sucked at the skin, trailing slowly downward to your breasts once more and burying his face in them for a moment.

 

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, taking in your scent. “Have I ever told you that?”

 

You looked down at him, a bit startled. “No…must have slipped your mind.”

 

He looked up at you, his usually-bright emerald eyes now darkened with lust. “ _Nothing_ slips my mind, darling. But it seems I must try to be more vocal about my thoughts in the future.” His voice held a note of promise you weren’t sure how to interpret. On the surface, it sounded innocent enough, but there was something about the way he said it that left you doubting how pure the words actually were.

 

“I’ll hold you to that,” you replied.

 

His gaze remained fixed on your for a moment longer before he laid you back down once more, abandoning what remained of his composure and plunging into you so hard it made you cry out. You would be aching come morning, but you didn’t care. All that mattered was the here and now, just the two of you.

 

Your fingers dug into his shoulders, leaving behind shallow crescents as you felt yourself nearing your third climax.

 

Face buried in your neck, Ignis suddenly groaned, the smooth rhythm of his hips stuttering as he reached his own peak just ahead of you. The sound, combined with the heat within you was enough to send you over the edge, and you tightened your hold on him, holding him close as both of you rode out the shockwaves of your release.

 

Finally, completely spend, he pulled out of you, reaching for his jacket and producing a square of cloth, which he first used to gently clean away the traces of your climax before doing the same for himself. When that was done, untied your wrists before laying down beside you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close.

 

You snuggled against him, closing your eyes. That had been one of the most intense sessions of your entire life, and you could still feel the ghostly shadows of the white-hot pleasure you had experienced.

 

“Are you all right, my love?” he whispered, looking down at you and tenderly brushing your hair back out of your face. “I may have gotten a little too rough there at the end.”

 

You shook your head, smiling up at him. “I’m just fine.” Your expression turned impish, then. “But I do think you’ve completely ruined me for any other man. I don’t see how anyone else could compare to that.”

 

You could have sworn you saw a smug look cross his face. “That may have been the intention. But I’m glad to hear that I redeemed myself. It would have been something of an embarrassment if that was the one and only experience you had with me.”

 

“Don’t worry. I’d say you made up for it at least ten times over.”

 

He looked thoughtful. “I think we can do better than that. Soon enough, I’ll find a way to top this.” Reaching out, he snuffed out the lantern, plunging the both of you into darkness, enveloped in each other’s arms.

 

“…Ignis?” Your voice was very quiet, almost inaudible.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I…um…” Trailing off, you tucked your head beneath his chin, not sure what had come over you. It was the perfect ending to the night, and you didn’t want to do anything to upset that.

 

“What is it?” he questioned, hearing the hesitation in your voice. “There’s no need to be shy. Not after all of _that_.”

 

“It’s nothing. Never mind.”

 

You could feel his eyes on you, even in the dark, but he didn’t push you any farther. Instead, he pulled the blankets over the both of you, giving a quiet sigh. “Try to get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

 

Closing your eyes, you listened to the sound of his breathing as it began to slow. When it had steadied into what you thought was the rhythm of sleep, you finally gathered up your courage to finish what you were going to say.

 

“I love you,” you murmured.

 

For a long time, nothing happened, but just as you were beginning to doze off yourself, you felt his lips brush lightly against your forehead. “And I, you, my dearest.”

 

You froze, not having realized that he was still awake. Then again, you had never been able to tell when he was truly sleeping. It looked like this was no exception. But the words were out there, and what was more, he returned the sentiment.

 

With a smile, you snuggled closer, making yourself comfortable, and the two of you fell asleep to the sound of the rain.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have this headcanon that Ignis is actually quite dominant in the bedroom, when he lets himself go. He's usually so straight-laced and calm, very rarely raising his voice, but I bet there's something rather wild in there just waiting to get out.
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> I imagine that he'll also deny himself relief for quite a while, just enjoying taking care of his partner before doing anything for himself.
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> Also, the blindfold thing... Because I have a sick sense of irony sometimes.

**Author's Note:**

> I took some liberties with the Glacial Grotto dungeon, and changed things up a little, and I can't say that I'm entirely pleased with how it turned out, but I tried rewriting it multiple times, and this was the best out of the bunch, so I took it and ran with it.
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> Ignis is actually kind of difficult to write for! But I kind of liked getting inside of his head, as unfathomable as he can be.
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> Also, Gladio keeps trying to be the one everyone goes to for advice, including Ignis.


End file.
